Novak Djokovic reaches his seventh French Open final with a four-set win over Carlos Alcaraz

Beating Novak Djokovic over five sets is one of the ultimate tests in any sport, and one that Carlos Alcaraz bluntly admitted he is not ready for.

It’s not just about the physical, it’s about the mind, and last night he admitted that the latter factor was the cause of their French Open semifinal disappointment.

The match had been a Parisian celebration right up to the start of the third set, when the strain of the occasion finally showed on the 20-year-old Spaniard, whose body was riddled with cramps.

It became a procession from there, with Djokovic reaching a 34th Grand Slam final, tying for the overall record with Chris Evert and poised to precede Rafael Nadal to 23 titles.

After a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 victory, he was left to wait for the winner of the second semifinal between Germany’s Alex Zverev and Norwegian Casper Ruud.

Alcaraz fought well in the first two sets, but succumbed to a cramp

Later on, Alcaraz made no secret of Djokovic’s aura, in what was their first meeting at a Grand Slam.

“It’s not easy to play against Novak, you know. He is a legend in our sport. If someone says he’s going on the field without any nerves to play against Novak, he’s lying,” said the Spaniard. “When you play a Grand Slam semi-final, you have a lot of nerves, but especially against Novak. I honestly disappointed myself, especially because I came into this match feeling great, physically great.’

There was no sugar coating as to why he had stalled: “The tension of the match got me off to a really nervous start. It was also really intense two sets. I started having cramps in every part of my body, not just the legs. The arms too, every part of the legs.

“Really good rallies, tough rallies, drop shots, sprints. It’s a combination of many things. But the most important thing was the tension, I have to learn lessons from that.’

There must be sympathy for Alcaraz, although he has already done enough to show that his time is yet to come.

“I told him on the net that he knows how young he is and that I am sure he will win this title many times,” said Djokovic.

By the time he was reduced to half pace in his movement, Alcaraz had once again shown what it’s all about. The audience at the Queen’s Club in London can see it for themselves the following week during the Cinch Championships.

But he has yet to learn to fully control his emotions and they added a lethal ingredient when mixed with the physical exertion required to complete a 77th minute set amid a feverish atmosphere at the Court Philippe Chatrier .

Djokovic has seen it all before and therein lies what makes him superior. He knows how to manage every situation to his advantage and, for example, walked off the court for six minutes at the end of the second set to change, while his young opponent waited impatiently.

He is astute about what he can get away with and will have noticed afterwards that Alcaraz soon tried to shake his hand.

The turning point, however, was dramatic. At the end of the second game of the third set, the Spaniard stopped after an attempt to return the service and had to immediately abandon the match.

The world number 1 played some brilliant points with only scattered errors against Djokovic

The Serbian (right) almost reached his seventh final in the last set at Roland Garros

The rules are clear that in such circumstances, provided the physio believes it to be a genuine case of cramp, the next match should be forfeited as it does not qualify as a medical time-out. This is a rare occurrence and the crowd roared their disapproval when they saw the scoreboard at 2-1.

It will be part of the learning process for Alcaraz, who fully contributed to some amazing exchanges in a rippling second set.

One of the rallies produced an age shot that came in the fourth game. Djokovic hit what looked like a winner with a volley with the Spaniard at the net, but somehow he ran off too fast and scrambled back to turn and deliver a forehand pass. He is capable of such wonderful things, but the stage is not yet his.

Djokovic now takes on last year’s defeated finalist Casper Ruud, who enjoyed a surprisingly easy passage as he beat Alex Zverev 6-3, 6-4, 6-0.