Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz moved into his second successive French Open final after Lorenzo Musetti retired injured in the fourth set of their semi-final.
Spanish second seed Alcaraz led 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 2-0 when Italy’s Musetti, aiming to reach his first major final, was forced to end the match early.
“It’s never fair. I want to win but not like this,” said Alcaraz.
Eighth seed Musetti needed treatment for a thigh problem at the end of the third set.
“When I was serving I started losing a bit of strength on the left leg and it was getting worse and worse,” the 23-year-old said.
“It was the right decision to make, but not what I wanted.”
The pair have been the leading clay-court players on the ATP Tour this year and showed why in two high-quality, competitive sets.
But once he levelled, 22-year-old Alcaraz unleashed his attacking shots to devastating effect to take control of the match.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, who won Roland Garros for the first time last year, will face either Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s final.
Serb sixth seed Djokovic, 38, continues his bid for a standalone record 25th title when he faces Italian world number one Sinner later on Friday (18:00 BST).
Alcaraz said he would be tuning in for the match, adding: “I’m not going to miss it. This match is one of the best match-ups we have in tennis right now.
“It is going to be great tennis. I’m going to enjoy it. I’m going to take tactics from the match.”
