French Open: Djokovic may have played his last game as Sinner and Alcaraz meet dream final

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic admitted his French Open semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner could well be his final match at Rolland Garros, sparking suggestions of his impending retirement.

The 38-year-old was seeking to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title, but was denied in straight sets by World No.1 Sinner.

Djokovic took his time leaving Court Philippe-Chatrier after his 6-4 7-5 7-6 defeat, putting down his bags to applaud every corner of the stadium before touching the clay as he exited.

And the Serb admitted that his emotions were heightened knowing that it could well be the final time he competes at the French Open.

‘This could have been the last match I ever played here, so I don’t know. That’s why I was a bit more emotional even in the end,’ Djokovic said in his post-match press conference.

‘But if this was the farewell match of the Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.’

Asked if it’s more than likely that Friday’s defeat was his last French Open contest, he added: ‘I don’t know really what tomorrow brings in a way at this point in my career. You know, I'm going to ‘keep on keeping on’.

‘Twelve months at this point in my career is quite a long time. Do I wish to play more? Yes, I do. But will I be able to play in 12 months here again? I don’t know.

‘Wimbledon and US Open, yes, they are in my plans. That’s all I can say right now. I’m going to, unless something, I don’t know, happens.

‘But I feel like I want to play Wimbledon, I want to play the US Open. Those two, for sure. For the rest, I’m not so sure.’

 Sinner will take on Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Sunday, after losing to him in Rome last month.

Regardless of the tricky surface beneath his feet, the disruptive swirling wind inside Court Philippe-Chatrier or the intimidating résumé of the adversary before him, Jannik Sinner keeps on going. The world No 1 continued to demonstrate his superiority over all challengers at Roland Garros as he closed out a supremely clutch performance against Novak Djokovic, the sixth seed, with a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3) win to reach the final of the French Open for the first time in his career.

Over the past 10 months, Sinner has established a period of total dominance at Grand Slam tournaments. He has now won 20 straight matches at major tournaments, and on Sunday, he will attempt to win his third straight major title.

Sinner is the fifth man this century to reach three consecutive grand slam finals, following in the path of the four legendary players before him: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray. He has still not dropped a set in Paris this year.

A long-awaited first major final between the two leading players of the new generation awaits. Sinner, the No. 1, will next face the second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 ret.., in what will be the first major final between two players born in the 2000s. Sinner has been untouchable on hard courts at the biggest events over the past 18 months, but he now will attempt to win his first significant title on clay, against an opponent who beat him on the surface in the final in Rome only three weeks ago. That was the fourth time in a row Alcaraz had prevailed against Sinner.