PARIS — Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Jannik Sinner in an engrossing five-set battle on Friday to reach his first French Open final, where he will face Alexander Zverev, who beat two-time runner-up Casper Ruud.

The two-time Grand Slam champion trailed 2-1 in sets to incoming world No. 1 Sinner, but rallied in the Paris sunshine to win 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 after four hours and nine minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

It was another gripping chapter in the pair's burgeoning rivalry, with Alcaraz now leading their head-to-head 5-4.

"I hope to play many, many more matches like this one against Jannik, but it's one of the toughest I've played for sure," said Alcaraz.

"I'm really happy about everything I did today. I waited for my moment until I took it." The 21-year-old will be the favorite heading into Sunday's final as he aims to become the youngest man to win Grand Slam titles on clay, grass and hard courts.

He has won both of his two previous major finals — at Wimbledon last year and the 2022 US Open.

But Zverev holds a career 5-4 winning record against Alcaraz, including a victory in their only previous Roland Garros meeting in the 2022 quarterfinals.

A German court dropped a case against Zverev over allegations he assaulted an ex-girlfriend earlier on Friday, after a settlement was agreed.

As part of the settlement, Zverev had agreed to pay 200,000 euros ($217,000), with most of it going into state coffers and the remainder to a fund for charitable organizations, a court spokesman said.

"I told you so from the start. I told everybody," said Zverev, who had already been fined 450,000 euros in October in the same case.

"I'm happy that it's over. Yeah, nothing else more to say. That's it. Four years. I'm happy about that." AFP