With two hours and 28 minutes gone, the first grand slam meeting between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz had lived up to the hype.
It was billed as a blockbuster, a moment that, after a year-long wait and a prolonged tug-of-war for the No 1 ranking, would bring either a changing of the guard or a reaffirmation of the old order. There is an obvious danger of overpromotion in such circumstances and yet, as the pair showcased their wondrous shot-making and athleticism, it felt as though the match might even have been undersold.
Then, calamity struck.
With Djokovic preparing to serve early in the third set, Alcaraz suddenly clutched his right hand in discomfort. He cast a quizzical look towards his box, missed a forehand return, and then hopped awkwardly on one leg, his body seized by cramp.
From that moment, the match was over in all but name, Alcaraz winning just one more game as Djokovic eased to a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory to reach his seventh final in Paris.
“The first set and the second set were really, really intense, and I started to cramp in my arm,” said Alcaraz, who defeated Djokovic in a final-set tiebreak in the only previous meeting between the pair, last year in Madrid.
“At the beginning of the third set I started to cramp every part of my body, not only the legs. The arms, as well, every part of the legs.
“It was really tough for me to move [in] the third set, and in the fourth set let’s say I had a little chance, but it was really tough. My full body started to cramp.”
Barely able to move in the third set, Alcaraz improved only marginally in the fourth as a match that began with a bang ended in a whimper.
Djokovic will now face Casper Ruud, a 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 winner over Alexander Zverev, in Sunday’s final with history on the line. Victory over the Norwegian, who was routed by Rafael Nadal at the same stage last year, will earn Djokovic a men’s record 23rd grand slam title, moving him one clear of Nadal. It would also return him to No 1 and, for the second time in three years, leave him half way to achieving the first grand slam in the men’s game for more than half a century.
“This was a big win today under circumstances that were obviously a little bit strange, especially in the third and fourth,” said Djokovic. “But a win is a win. I have said it many times this year, that during the clay season Roland Garros is where I want to peak, where I want to play my best tennis.
“I put myself in another really ideal position to win a grand slam. That’s basically what still drives me when I wake up in the morning.”
The magnitude of the occasion was tangible from the outset. No less remarkable than Alcaraz’s physical dynamism and outrageous shot-making is his ability to enjoy the cut and thrust of competition. Here is a man who treats the court as his playground, who greets his most outrageous winners with the broadest of smiles. But for a set, as Djokovic exerted suffocating pressure with the precision and consistency of his serving, and with the peerless quality of his returns, Alcaraz looked anything but happy.
Uncharacteristic errors and miscues betrayed an anxiety that has hitherto been alien to the Spaniard. It was hardly surprising, given the significance of the match, and Alcaraz admitted afterwards that the tension coursing through his body in those early stages was the root of his undoing.
“I have never felt something like I did today,” said Alcaraz. “I have never felt the tension that I did in that match.
“[It] is not easy to play against Novak, you know, a legend of our sport. If someone says that he gets [on] the court with no nerves playing against Novak, he lies.
“Of course, playing a semi-final of a grand slam, you have a lot of nerves, but even more with facing Novak. That’s the truth.”
Djokovic turned the screw ruthlessly in the early stages. Having started slowly against Karen Khachanov in the previous round, the Serb knew he could ill-afford a repeat against a man 16 years his junior, and he guarded against that eventuality by landing 23 of his 29 first serves. Even that was not enough to prevent Alcaraz from fashioning three break points in the seventh game. But with the Spaniard struggling to play with his customary freedom, the breakthrough proved elusive. The singular sight of Alcaraz screaming towards his box in frustration offered an insight into his heightened emotional state.
The US Open champion’s turmoil was magnified by Djokovic’s trademark ability to elevate his level at the moments of greatest need. Deadly throughout with the accuracy of his centre-line serves in the ad court, the Serb threw in a clever change of direction to deny Alcaraz another break point at 5-3, prising a return error with a penetrating wide delivery as he served out the set.
But as Alcaraz came to terms with the intensity of the contest, the smile returned to his face. After racing on to a drop shot early in the second set, he wrong-footed Djokovic, steering the ball down the line for a winner. It was a near thing, though, the ball landing plum on the baseline, and the Spaniard shot a broad grin to his team, amused by his needless brinkmanship.
Suddenly, Alcaraz began to look like Alcaraz. The shoulders relaxed. The liveliest arm in the game began to loosen. Soon afterwards came the first big Alcaraz moment, the 20-year-old racing back to the baseline after retrieving a Djokovic drop shot to somehow manufacture a swatted pass with his back to the court. Both men laughed at that one. Alcaraz was on his way, and in the eighth game he broke after Djokovic had received treatment on his forearm. Unable to serve out at 5-3, he clinched the set four games later with a love break.
The stage was set for an epic, but it was not to be. As Alcaraz was stricken by cramp at 1-1 in the third set, he stood hunched over, clutching at his right calf and unable to place his right foot down. Aurélie Tourte, the French umpire, descended from her chair and was soon joined by Djokovic, who appeared to offer a few consoling words.
“I can’t play like this,” said Alcaraz as he tried to stretch out the muscle.
“Well, we have a problem,” replied Tourte, explaining that, with the rules not allowing play to be halted for cramp, the world No 1 could not take a medical timeout until the next changeover. It meant that, in order to receive immediate attention, Alcaraz would need to forfeit the next game, a situation he accepted with characteristic good grace.
The Spaniard was still smiling as he explained the problem to the trainer, who rubbed ointment into the muscle and returned at the next change of ends to provide further treatment. But it was all to no avail, Alcaraz winning just one more game as Djokovic advanced to his 34th grand slam final in 70 attempts.
“Not the best way to end the match for him, but respect [to] him for hanging in there until the last point,” said Djokovic. “It was obvious that he was struggling with his movement.
“It’s unfortunate for the crowd, it’s unfortunate for a match of this importance for both of us, but that’s sport. You know, it happens when you play on extremely high intensity as we both did, I think, for the first two sets.
“It was so even. It was very demanding physically for both of us, and things like that physically, cramps or whatever he was struggling with, can happen.
“I wish him fast recovery. I’m sure he will be back strong.”
You can be equally sure that Djokovic will be back strong two days from now.