Paris [France], June 10 (ANI): The 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic moved to within one win of claiming a record 23rd major crown on Friday at the ongoing French Open 2023 as he produced a masterclass performance to claw past an ailing Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

In the generational clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the 36-year-old Serbian came out firing from the start, tugging the 20-year-old Spaniard about with damaging and consistent groundstrokes to win the opening set. Alcaraz and Djokovic traded blows in the first two sets, displaying outstanding agility and mobility in a high-quality and intriguing opening set.

After tying the match, Alcaraz began to cramp in his right calf at the start of the third set, and he surrendered his service game at 1-1 so he could skip to a changeover and be treated by an ATP physio. The Spaniard, who missed the Australian Open due to a leg injury this year, was unable to chase after strokes and drive into the ball, allowing Djokovic to reclaim the lead. After three hours and 23 minutes, the third seed flew through the fourth set against Alcaraz to progress.

"First and foremost I have to say tough luck for Carlos. Obviously, at this level, the last thing you want is cramps and physical problems at the late stages of a Grand Slam. So I feel for him, I feel sorry. I hope he can recover and he can come back very soon," ATP.com quoted Djokovic as saying.

"I told him at the net. He knows how young he is. He's got plenty of time ahead of him, so he's going to win this tournament I'm sure many many times. He's an unbelievable player, an incredible competitor and a very nice guy, so he deserves all the applause and all the support," he added.

Sixteen years his junior, Alcaraz was the youngest man to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals since a then-20-year-old Djokovic did in 2007. The top seed won his first major trophy at the US Open last year, but he will not add to his score in Paris after physically struggling to keep up with Djokovic throughout Friday's semi-final.

"It's tough. Obviously for him to not know whether he should retire [from] the match or finish the match the way he did. Congratulations to him for his fighting spirit and hanging in all the way until the last point. Respect for that, great respect," Djokovic said.

"I think we were both at the physical limit towards the end of the second set. I wasn't feeling fresh at all. We went toe to toe. I think it was a quite even match, one-set-all, and then this thing happened with his cramp in the third game of the third set and from that moment onwards it was a different match. Obviously I just tried to stay focused, to stay present, and I saw that he was struggling, but I obviously didn't want to think too much about what was going on the opposite side of the net. Again, respect for hm and I hope he comes back very quickly," the 22-time Grand Slam champion said. (ANI)