Nadal's first French Open win set him on a path to untold dominance. Here's how it unfolded, according to those that lived it.

Few athletes have become more synonymous with a single event than Rafael Nadal and the French Open. The Spaniard won a record 14 titles at the grand slam in his career and Roland Garros gave its champion one final goodbye on Sunday.

Rafael Nadal stepped out into Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday to the sort of unending adulation, thunderous applause and chants of his nickname, “Rafa,” that greeted him for years as he accumulated a record 14 French Open championships,

It is unusual to think of Novak Djokovic as not being the favorite to win a French Open semifinal, given that his greatest clay-court rival Rafael Nadal has retired.

The 22-year-old Alcaraz is chasing a second French Open title and fifth major overall. Alcaraz beat Musetti twice on clay this season — in the Italian Open semifinals and the Monte Carlo Masters final.

Second seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz moved into the French Open final on Friday after Lorenzo Musetti retired in the fourth set of their semi-final on centre court.