French Open Day 13 Recap: Alcaraz Pips Sinner; Zverev Edges Ruud To Set Up Grand Finale

That, and much more in our recap of Day 13 at Roland Garros.

Alcaraz Prevails Over 'New No. 1' Sinner

In an eagerly awaited match-up between the two touted as potential successors to the 'Big Four' in men's tennis, Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in an intense five-set clash. Sinner, who will replace Novak Djokovic as the new world number 1 on June 10, had entered the semi-finals with a 13-0 record in Grand Slam play in 2024, having won the Australian Open in January.

Zverev Battles Past Ruud

Alexander Zverev forged a hard-fought 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 7 Casper Ruud of Norway to enter his maiden French Open final. Ruud had progressed with a bye after Novak Djokovic's injury withdrawal, but felt unwell three games into the third set, and left the court after going 2-1 down in a bid to recompose himself. Zverev then capitalized and won the fourth set with ease to set up a final showdown against Alcaraz.

Hours before his semifinal win, Zverev's domestic abuse case in Berlin ended, as he reached an out-of-court settlement with his accuser, a former girlfriend. A reporter tried to follow up on the topic, but Zverev curtly responded: “We move on. I never, ever want to hear another question about the subject again. That goes out to everybody.”

Paolini To Play Finals On Back-To-Back Days

After advancing to the women's singles final, Jasmine Paolini also booked a spot in the women's doubles final alongside Sara Errani. The Italian pairing beat Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 and will face Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova in the title clash on Sunday.

But before that, the world number 15 has her task cut out against the top-ranked, defending champion Iga Swiatek in the singles summit meeting. Swiatek is Swiatek is gunning a third straight title at Roland Garros, while Paolini will play in her first grand slam singles final.

French Open Day 13 Key Results

Carlos Alcaraz (3) beat Jannik Sinner (2), 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

Alexander Zverev (4) beat Casper Ruud (7), 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2