Roland-Garros 2025: Jannik Sinner extinguishes Novak Djokovic, joins Carlos Alcaraz in the final

This Friday evening, we would have liked time travel to exist, just to bring back to the Philippe Chatrier court a Djokovic a few years younger. The choice is perhaps the one from 2023 who had won three Grand Slams, including Roland-Garros. Or the one from 2021 who had achieved the same feat. Not that the 2025 version wouldn't be suitable—the Serb is still easily one of the top three players on the tour. But he faced a robot, an automaton, a machine in the semi-finals at Porte d'Auteuil: Jannik Sinner, a kind of prototype fashioned with the latest innovations on the market . And so well-tuned that a 38-year-old player, even crowned the best in history, couldn't derail him.

It's unclear whether a Novak Djokovic a few years younger would have managed to win a few more games. The one on Friday night played magnificently, and yet he left feeling unscathed, soundly beaten in three sets (6-4, 7-5, 7-6). "It's a shame that everyone's getting older," our neighbor in the stands philosophized. We couldn't have said it better.

For over three hours, the Serb left us with the strange impression of never being very far away, and at the same time never really close to the young (23-year-old) Italian. From the first set, we saw him flying much closer to the UFO Sinner than his predecessors - Lehecka, in the third round, Rublev in the round of 16 and Bublik in the quarterfinals had only scored two games in their respective first three sets against the world number 1. Djokovic scored as many in ten minutes. A short-lived resistance. Jannik Sinner is a machine gun with an infernal pace and an unlimited magazine capacity, who fires again and again, without really varying - why do it when hitting is enough. Caught in the crosshairs, Novak Djokovic lasted 21 minutes jumping around like a rabbit before losing his first bet. The set would follow half an hour later. The worst part of all this? With only 43% of first serves passed, Sinner seems to be playing with the handbrake on.

The second set offered two events. First, Jannik Sinner double-faulted. Normal, one might say; everyone does. Except for the Italian, who had only committed one since the start of the tournament (unheard of for a player reaching the semi-finals at Porte d'Auteuil since statistics have been kept). Then, he finally dropped his serve – he hadn't been broken since the first round, eleven days ago. The crowd at Le Chatrier, largely in favor of Djokovic, believed it for a while. Jannik Sinner quickly put things back in order and walked away with the set (7-5). The Serb got frustrated – at that level, you might as well play against a wall. The spectator in front of us did too: "Go ahead, this guy is too strong."

The third set lasted ages (1 hour 19 minutes). Several times, we thought we saw the Sinner wall crack, until he conceded three set points on his serve, all of which were wiped out with a forehand or backhand chip. As if the Italian's blood, alone in front of 15,000 people, was made of ice. The matter went to the tiebreak, the domain of the Serb, who is so strong in such heated moments. The Italian didn't care: he crushed the deciding game (7-3), the set, and the match with it. Jannik Sinner hasn't lost a set in a Grand Slam since his round of 16 at the 2025 Australian Open. That's 29 consecutive sets. On reflection, I'm not sure a 30- or 35-year-old Djokovic would have done better.

The Serbian legend will soon turn to the grass. Wimbledon is a month away, where he can try to claim a 25th Grand Slam and, this time, be definitively alone in his kingdom (Margaret Smith Court, in the women's competition, has also won 24). The clock is ticking. He will be 38 years and one month old. Jannik Sinner, for his part, may continue to write tennis history on Sunday, and his own in the process. He could win his fourth Major – the third in a row after the US Open at the end of 2024 and the Australian Open in January. He will face Carlos Alcaraz, who is looking for a double at Porte d'Auteuil . The only player on the tour who could, perhaps, unseat the unseatable.