Jannik Sinner said it "doesn't get any bigger" than facing Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final, after ending Novak Djokovic's latest tilt at a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title in the last four on Friday.
Novak Djokovic suggested he may well have bidden adieu to Roland Garros after the 38-year-old was defeated in the semifinals by Jannik Sinner on Friday.
"Jannik is in tremendous form, and he has been the best player for the last couple of years," said Djokovic.
Jannik Sinner booked himself a second consecutive semi-final appearance at Roland Garros on Wednesday with a typically ruthless straight-sets victory over unseeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik.
Novak Djokovic eased into a record-breaking 19th Roland Garros quarter-final with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Cameron Norrie on Monday.
Football fan Djokovic may have missed the majority of PSG's 5-0 demolition of Inter, but the Serb told reporters after his win the final made its presence felt on court in Paris.
He is through to the last 32 in Paris for the 20th time, more than even 14-time champion Rafael Nadal managed.
Novak Djokovic got his tilt at a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title off to a solid start on Tuesday as the Serb beat Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the French Open.
The 38-year-old Djokovic starts off against 98th-ranked American Mackenzie McDonald, three days after becoming only the third man to win 100 ATP titles with his victory in Geneva.
Djokovic, speaking to reporters as he prepared to defend his US Open title, said players who have bemoaned a lack of transparency in the Sinner case make a valid point.
Jack Draper defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime at the US Open warm-up event on Friday despite a suspicion the ball hit the Briton's racquet and then the floor before it popped over the net to secure the match-winning point.
Following Novak Djokovic's dramatic gold medal victory at the Paris Olympics, Serbia is set to build a museum dedicated to the tennis great, according to the country's president.
Novak Djokovic described his Olympic gold medal triumph on Sunday as "probably" his "biggest sporting success" and revealed he may defend the title at the 2028 Los Angeles Games when he will be 41.
After heartbreak in Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, Djokovic simply would not be denied the one title that had eluded him for so long, winning 7-6(3) 7-6(2) in front of an enthralled crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier.
A fired-up Novak Djokovic on Friday reached his first Olympic Games final, where he will face Carlos Alcaraz in a dream gold medal showdown.
"I'm soaking wet, honestly," he said. "It's a very, very humid day as it was yesterday. I just hope it rains so it cools down the temperature a bit and the air," said Djokovic.
Rafael Nadal said he will make a decision on his future in tennis "after the Olympics" in the aftermath of a shattering straight-sets defeat to old rival Novak Djokovic at the Paris Games on Monday.
It was 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic's 31st win in a rivalry which began on the same Roland Garros clay courts in 2006.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will do battle once more when they meet at the Paris Olympics on Monday while Australia's Ariarne Titmus is hotly tipped to win her second swimming gold of the Games.
