Djokovic, Alcaraz book duel; Sabalenka condemns war

PARIS – Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will square off in a blockbuster French Open semifinal, while Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka condemned outright her country’s role in the Ukraine war on Tuesday after reaching the last four at Roland Garros.

Djokovic, chasing a third French Open crown and record 23rd men’s Grand Slam singles title, recovered from dropping his first set of the tournament to defeat 11th seed Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-4.

The 36-year-old Serb is in his 12th Roland Garros semifinal – his 45th at the majors – and faces Alcaraz for a place in the final after the world No. 1 thrashed 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets.

“That’s the match that a lot of people want to see. It’s definitely the biggest challenge for me so far in the tournament,” said Djokovic, who lost his only meeting with Alcaraz in Madrid last year.

“If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. He’s definitely a guy to beat here. I’m looking forward to that.”

Alcaraz once more showed why he is the favorite with a convincing 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Greek fifth seed Tsitsipas in the night session, easily navigating his stiffest challenge to date.

The 20-year-old Spaniard has won all five meetings with Tsitsipas and becomes the youngest Roland Garros semifinalist since Djokovic in 2007.

Tsitsipas started with a confident hold but Alcaraz soon grabbed control with two breaks to bag the opening set.

Alcaraz’s mix of delicate drop shots and blistering groundstrokes were too much for an overmatched Tsitsipas, who tamely surrendered the second set with a double fault.

The top seed broke early in the third set but failed to serve it out at 5-3 as Tsitsipas offered some belated resistance, saving five match points before ultimately going down in the tie-break.

Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine came into sharp focus again as Sabalenka ended Elina Svitolina’s surprise run in the highest-profile match between two players whose countries are on opposing sides of the conflict.

Sabalenka won a politically-charged encounter 6-4, 6-4 to extend her Grand Slam winning streak to 12 matches following her first major title at the Australian Open in January.

Svitolina was booed by the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier after refusing to shake hands, a common practice now in the sport when a Ukrainian player meets a Russian or Belarusian opponent.

After boycotting her past two press conferences, Sabalenka insisted she is not a supporter of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key military ally of Moscow.

“I’m not supporting the war, meaning I don’t support Lukashenko right now,” said Sabalenka.