How do you deal with the weight of expectation? Relish it, according to Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian moved within one win of a record 23rd major trophy on Friday by defeating World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz to reach the championship match at Roland Garros. Djokovic pulled away from the physically ailing Spaniard after a pulsating opening two sets to clinch a four-set triumph and move to the brink of history.

“Pressure is always on my shoulders, so it’s not going to be different,” said the 36-year-old, who would move ahead of Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam titles race by defeating Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final. “But it’s part of my sport, part of my life, all that I do. I think that having pressure is a privilege. But it’s a source of motivation, as well. Great motivation to play well and to reach Sunday.

“Before the tournament I was saying that of course for me Roland Garros is a Grand Slam, and it’s the most important tournament on this surface. So I was well-prepared so that I would be in this position, so that I would be ready for this battle to win this other Grand Slam title.

“I hope that I’ll play my best tennis level on Sunday. The only thing I can say now is that I’m very focused. History is always something that’s hovering over me, but I’m very happy to be in this position to write history of this sport, but I’m just thinking about winning the next match.”

Djokovic produced some of his best tennis of the fortnight in Paris early against Alcaraz, but the Spaniard had struck back to level the pair’s semi-final at one-set-all when he began to suffer from debilitating cramp that severely hindered his movement on Court Philippe-Chatrier. In true champion style, Djokovic stayed focused on his own game to clinch a comfortable victory in a match that had seemed set to become a Roland Garros classic.

“I have experienced that several times,” said Djokovic, when asked about Alcaraz’s post-match self-assessment that the tension of the encounter had contributed to his physical issues. “Early in my career I was struggling quite a bit physically. I can understand the emotions and circumstances that affect you mentally and emotionally.

“Being in one of the greatest tournaments of the world, [and] maybe for the first time in his career he was expected to win. He was maybe not an underdog, chasing the title and trying to win against a favourite. It was probably the other way around. So maybe that affected him. As he said, it probably did.”

Djokovic was in no doubt that 2022 US Open champion Alcaraz would soon come again on the Grand Slam stage, and likened the Spaniard’s tribulations on the Parisian clay to some that he went through earlier in his own career.

“It’s a part of the learning curve. It’s part of the experience,” said Djokovic, who had to wait three years between winning his first major title and his second. “He’s only 20. So, he’s got plenty of time.

“He’s showed so much maturity in the last couple of years. He appeared on the scene, just a few years ago, winning his first title, and only a year later he wins his first Grand Slam, and he becomes No. 1.

“I have tremendous respect for that, and he’s got a great coach, a great team of people around him. The career will be his. His career will be very successful if he manages obviously to keep healthy, because the game is there.”

Emulating past successes is never easy, but Casper Ruud made it appear so on Friday at Roland Garros.

The Norwegian charged to his third championship match in the space of five Grand Slam events with a seemingly nerveless 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 semi-final victory against Alexander Zverev at the clay-court major. Ruud, who was a finalist in Paris a year ago and at the 2022 US Open, delivered a performance full of his trademark clean baseline hitting to overwhelm Zverev and wrap a two-hour, nine-minute triumph on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

“Honestly I just went out there and tried to play without too many feelings, without thinking too much,” said Ruud in his on-court interview. “If it’s towards the end of the tournament, everyone here playing today has done well anyway. So I tried to play without pressure, without thinking too much, and not to play with too much emotion, if that makes sense.

“Today just went really well. From the beginning to the last point everything was going my way, luckily, and I’m just very happy to win this match.”

Ruud converted six of 10 break points he earned to book his spot in Sunday’s championship match, where he will play for his maiden major title. His opponent there will be two-time champion Novak Djokovic, who earlier defeated Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

Ruud arrived at Roland Garros with a modest 16-11 record for the year, but had shown recent signs of being back to his best after a difficult start to 2023. The 24-year-old lifted his 10th ATP Tour title in Estoril in April and reached an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Rome in May, and he has continued his resurgence in Paris by dropping just two sets en route to his third major final.

“I didn’t come into Roland Garros thinking I was a favourite to reach the final,” said Ruud. “Not at all. I was trying to think one match at a time, and let’s see how it goes from there.

“Obviously I [thought then that I] would love to be back in the final like last year, and I [was] always thinking about trying to defend this final spot from last year, but here we are, two weeks later. It’s been two very fun weeks here in Paris, just as fun as last year, and hopefully the third time can be the charm for me.”

The dominant feature of his performance against Zverev was his sheer relentlessness in making his opponent play. Ruud made just 19 unforced errors across the three sets, compared to 37 for Zverev, and his rocket forehand was the key weapon behind his final tally of 25 winners.

Zverev dropped his opening service game of the match but immediately responded with a break of his own in the third game for 1-2. That was as good as it got for the German, who did not break his opponent’s serve again. Ruud notched another break in the next game and was hugely effective at blunting the 22nd seed’s booming delivery with some razor-sharp returning throughout.

A solitary break in the seventh game was enough for Ruud to seal the second set and he raced to victory from there as a tiring Zverev struggled to stick with his opponent. The fourth seed cruised to the third set without facing a break point to complete his triumph and level his ATP Head2Head series with the German at 2-2.

Kei Nishikori is set to return to action for the first time in 20 months at next week’s ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico.

The former World No. 4, who underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery last year, announced on Twitter that he is en route to the Caribbean Open, his first tournament since October 2021.

Excited! On the way to Puerto Rico! @ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/cvv0oU0cBp

— Kei Nishikori (@keinishikori) June 9, 2023

Nishikori, 33, is a 12-time tour-level titlist. In 2014, the Japanese star was a finalist at the US Open and two years later, Nishikori earned the bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic games. He owns a 431-211 career match record.

Nishikori will learn his place in the Palmas del Mar Challenger draw Saturday and first-round action will begin Monday 12 June. The hard-court event will be free to stream live and on demand at Challenger TV.

For two sets, Carlos Alcaraz put on a show during his semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, matching the Serbian stride for stride as the ATP stars went to battle at the clay-court major.

However, after winning the second set to level the match, Alcaraz started to suffer cramp in his right calf and was forced to forfeit his service game at 1-1 in the third set to receive immediate treatment at the changeover from the physio. Two-time champion Djokovic went on to win 12 of the last 14 games.

Following the match, the Spaniard was asked whether his cramping experience was the hardest he has ever faced on court.

“Probably,” the 20-year-old replied. “It has been really tough for me today. I have never felt something like I did today. I have never felt that tension that I did in that match.

“I would say the first set and the second set was really, really intense and I started to cramp in my arm. 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,” Alcaraz later continued. “It was really tough for me to move at 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.”

Alcaraz was chasing his second major title at the clay-court event and knew victory against Djokovic on Friday would have ensured he remained No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings following the tournament. The Serbian can now return to top spot if he wins a record 23rd major on Sunday.

The top seed, who was the youngest man to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros since a then-20-year-old Djokovic in 2007, believes the pressure of the occasion played a part in his physical demise.

“It was the tension of the match. I started the match really nervous. The tension of the first set, the second set, it was really intense two sets, as well,” Alcaraz said. “There [were] really good rallies, tough rallies. Drop shots, sprints, rallies. It’s a combination of a lot of things. But the main thing, it was the tension that I had all the two first sets.”

Aged 20, Alcaraz has risen to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, captured four ATP Masters 1000 titles and a major crown at the US Open. The Spaniard, who is 35-4 in 2023, is aware there will be lower points during his career, though, and hopes to learn from his semi-final disappointment.

“You have to learn from these kinds of matches, these kinds of experiences,” Alcaraz said. “I would say I take lessons from that match. I will try [for it] to not happen again in these matches. I have to take lessons from that experience and it’s something that I have to deal with.”

Alcaraz will next compete at The Queen’s Club, where he will make his debut.

Andy Murray rallied from a set down Friday amidst difficult conditions to book his ticket into the semi-finals at the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event in Surbiton.

The Scot survived Australian Jason Kubler 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 after two hours, six minutes at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy. Murray sent the World No. 69 on the run behind the baseline and mixed in variety, displaying his fair share of slice and drop shots, to reach the last four.

“Really hard conditions today, a lot of wind gusts, but I did well to finish it off,” Murray said in his post-match interview. “I played some good tennis when I needed to. It was a match where you just need to try and find a way to get through, not so much about the quality of the tennis.”

Kubler, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, received treatment on his back at 0-3 in the decider. Despite breaking Murray’s serve the following game, the three-time major champion held on to set a semi-final clash against the defending champion, Jordan Thompson, who ousted Rinky Hijikata 7-6(1), 6-2.

Murray is aiming for a second Challenger title this year. Last month, the former World No. 1 captured the Challenger 175 crown in Aix-en-Provence, France, where he defeated Tommy Paul in the final. The 36-year-old’s triumph was his first title at any level since 2019.

This year, the ATP Challenger Tour announced the all-new 175 events which are held during the second week of select ATP Master 1000 tournaments, and have drawn appearances from several Top 40 stars.

“A lot of the Challengers now, there are more points up to offer at a lot of them so the draws tend to be stronger,” Murray said. “Now you also have the 175s, where the draws are more like 250 events. I feel like the level has improved, more players pick up points in these events. You see here, there’s [11] Top 100 players here [in Surbiton] and a few pulled out as well, so I feel like the level has improved.”

Thompson, who is an 11-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, defeated Murray at the ATP 500 event at Queen’s Club in 2017. The 29-year-old will aim to upset the home favourite again during Saturday’s action.

In the top half of the draw, Jurij Rodionov will contest Zizou Bergs for a spot in the final. The Austrian Rodionov cruised past Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-4 in the quarters while Bergs ousted sixth seed Constant Lestienne 7-6(2), 6-3. 

The Marathon Man 🏃‍♂️@andy_murray comes back from one set down to defeat Jason Kubler and reach the Surbiton semifinals #ATPChallenger | @the_LTA pic.twitter.com/bUEqfszA29

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 9, 2023