PARIS — A wrist injury led two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz to withdraw from the French Open weeks before play began this year on the red clay of Roland Garros.
Jannik Sinner, the top-ranked player on the ATP Tour who was seeking a title in Paris to complete the career Grand Slam at age 24, was sent home early by a stunning second-round loss.
The pressure has been on Alexander Zverev to finally win an elusive first major championship, and now the second-seeded player is only one victory away from raising the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
The 29-year-old German reached the fourth Grand Slam final of his career after beating No. 26 seed Jakub Mensik in Friday’s first scheduled semifinal, 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Zverev will face 14th-ranked, 10th-seeded Flavio Cobolli in Sunday’s final. Cobolli, 24, advanced when 104th-ranked Matteo Arnaldi withdrew before their all-Italian semifinal due to illness.