Jannik Sinner unknowingly became world number one when he reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time.
While the Italian defeated Grigor Dimitrov in two sets, Novak Djokovic withdrew from the tournament due to a knee injury.
Djokovic’s departure means that Sinner will overtake the Serb and move to the top of the rankings when the rankings are updated on Monday.
The 22-year-old, who is the first Italian to be number one in the world, defeated the Bulgarian veteran Dimitrov 6:2, 6:4 and 7:6 (3).
“It definitely means a lot to me,” he said. “It’s not actually what we all expected. He had two very long matches, tough matches, five sets, so it’s tough. He finished the first one very late as well.”
“You know, it’s hard for the tournament too. Novak’s retirement is always hard.
“Personally, I am very happy about this success. We put a lot of work into it every day. It is a daily routine. Of course, I am happy to have this number.
“I have a very important game coming up in two days, the semi-final, and that’s what I’m concentrating on at the moment. But yes, of course I’m very happy to have this number now.”
Sinner will compete against fellow junior Carlos Alcaraz, who was himself number one in the world until last September.
Alcaraz, 21, claimed he held the “key” to defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas ahead of their quarter-final night session.
And the Wimbledon winner kept his word and defeated the Greek ninth-ranked player 6:3, 7:6 (3), 6:4.
Tsitsipas fought back briefly in the second set, complaining to the umpire about interference after a drawn-out grunt from Alcaraz during the tiebreak.
But a double fault in the middle of the third set gave Alcaraz the initiative and the Spaniard took his sixth win in six matches in a direct duel with Tsitsipas.
“I think it was a very good match, I played great,” said Alcaraz. “I controlled my emotions very well and was really calm in the moments when it mattered. I’m really happy to play a semifinal here at Roland Garros.”
“Jannik will be a really difficult challenge, at the moment he is the best player in the world, the player who is playing the best tennis at the moment.
“We played some great games. Thanks to him, I can motivate myself to become a better player, improve my game and try to beat him. I’m ready to take on this challenge.”
There is no doubt that Alcaraz has worked his way deep into Tsitsipas’ head.
“I just have to break through this mental barrier,” said the 25-year-old. “I feel like voodoo stuff happened on the pitch today.”
“I just couldn’t get the ball where I wanted it. It’s really unbelievable.”
