Carlos Alcaraz recovered from a poor start to beat a shaky Jannik Sinner 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 to reach his maiden French Open final.
He was a shadow of his brilliant self in the opening set before capitalizing on his opponent’s premature cramps to level ahead of the match going into a decider.
Australian Open champion Sinner, who will take over from Novak Djokovic as world No 1 next week, bowed out when he returned a massive forehand down the line wide on the third match point on Court Philippe-Chatrier in a contest lasting four hours and nine minutes.
The 21-year-old Spaniard becomes the youngest player to make Grand Slam finals on all three surfaces; hard-court, grass and now the clay of Paris.
Alcaraz, who won both his previous Grand Slam finals, at the US Open and Wimbledon, said: “You have to find the joy in suffering, that’s the key, even more on clay in Roland Garros. Long rallies, four-hour matches, five sets, you have to suffer. But you have to enjoy suffering.
“The toughest matches I’ve played in my short career have been against Jannik. US Open, this one, and I hope to play many, many more matches like this one against Jannik – but it was one of the toughest matches, for sure.”
The final, on Sunday, will be the first final not to feature one of the 14-time winner, Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer since 2004.
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