MOSCOW, June 9 Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic noted fighting spirit Spaniard Carlos Alcaras, the first racket of the world, after the semi-finals of the French Open tennis championship.
The meeting ended with the score 6:3, 5:7, 6:1, 6:1 in favor of the Serb seeded under the third number. At the end of the second game of the third set, Alcaraz grabbed his leg and took a medical timeout, but then continued the meeting.
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"I must say that Carlos was unlucky. Obviously, at this level, the last thing you want is cramps and physical problems in the later stages of Grand Slam tournaments. So I sympathize with him, I'm very sorry. I hope he can recover and come back very soon. I told him about it at the net. He knows how young he is. He has a lot of time ahead of him, so he will win this tournament, I'm sure, many times», — the website of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) quotes Djokovic as saying.
Grand Slam TournamentsRoland Garros ATP09 June 2023 • start at 16:05FinishedCarlos AlcarazSpain1 : 33:67:51:61:6Novak DjokovicSerbia
The Serb noted that Alcaraz deserved applause and support.
“Obviously he didn’t know if he should pull out of the match or finish it the way he did. You have to give him credit for his fighting spirit and for holding on to the last game. I respect him for that, I have a lot of respect. I think that we were both at the limit of physical capabilities by the end of the second set. I didn’t feel fresh at all. We went toe to toe. I think it was a pretty equal match, «added the Serbian tennis player.
Djokovic is a 22-time Grand Slam winner. He won twice at Roland Garros (2016, 2021), in total he will play in the final of the tournament for the seventh time. Alcaraz showed his best result at the French Open, reaching the quarter-finals last year. In addition, the Spaniard won the US Open (2022).