Alexander Zverev books French Open final vs Carlos Alcaraz as Ruud plagued by stomach bug

Alexander Zverev defeated an ailing Casper Ruud to reach the French Open final.

Alexander Zverev booked his place in the French Open final after an ailing Casper Ruud was unable to continue their semi-final clash on Friday.

Fourth seed Zverev dropped the opening set but hit back to claim a 2-6 6-2 6-4 6-2 victory over last year's runner-up.

Norwegian seventh seed Ruud, who was also beaten in the 2023 final by Rafael Nadal, called the doctor and took medication during the third set after complaining of a stomach issue.

Despite barely chasing down balls, Ruud had a lifeline with a break point as Zverev served for the third.

But the German took the set and went on to finish the match with more than 50 winners as he reached his second Grand Slam final, nearly four years after his first.

The two-time French Open finalist couldn't even shake hands with Zverev because he clearly didn't want to infect the 27-year-old with his illness.

"There was no handshake at the end with Casper. I think he has a stomach bug, we wish him well," on-court interviewer Mats Wilander said.

"I felt the first two sets were very high level - the first set from him, the second set from me and then end of the third I saw that he started to move a bit slower.

"That's normally how it is when you're not feeling quite well. But his shots are still the same so if you just look at how he moves and all that, and if you started to be a bit more passive and wait for it, he's going to win the match.

"Credits to him to play until the end and fight until the end."

Zverev will now face world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, who has an undefeated 2-0 record in Grand Slam finals, in Sunday's championship match.