Jannik Sinner waded into a row between Novak Djokovic and the umpire during a tense moment in their French Open semi-final clash. The incident took place after the veteran Serb, who was trailing by two sets, had missed three opportunities to halve the deficit. The two players were locked at deuce when Djokovic's forehand return was called out, leaving him furious.

The umpire quickly jumped down from his chair and pointed to a mark in the clay, illustrating to Djokovic that his shot had landed outside the white line. The latter was having none of it, though, and exploded with rage. He threw his arms up and down as he passionately argued that his effort had nicked the white line, rather than bouncing just wide.

"There is no space there," he fumed. "What are you talking about?" The umpire replied: "Can I talk? You see inside the mark, there is a little space. The ball is out."

Djokovic continued to remonstrate with the umpire, who maintained that he saw a narrow space between the ball mark and the white line. It prompted Sinner to have a look for himself before approaching the net and exchanging some words with Djokovic.

He appeared to inform his rival that he saw two marks near the line and that Djokovic's shot had indeed gone narrowly wide. It seemed to do the trick for the 37-year-old, who stopped protesting and returned to the baseline in preparation for the next point.

It did not take much longer for Sinner to wrap up the match, winning a third-set tiebreak to claim victory in straight sets. He will face Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, in a Grand Slam final for the very first time on Sunday.

Sinner had some kind words for Djokovic in his post-match interview, saying: "It was such a special occasion, playing against Novak in the semi-final of a Grand Slam. I had to step up and play the best tennis I could.

"I'm happy with how I handled the situation. This shows again what a role model he is for all of us, especially us younger players. What he is doing is incredible, so I wish him only the best for the rest of the season.

"I think we are very lucky to see him playing such high-level tennis. It's amazing. He achieved so many things. He is the best player in the history of our sport. Playing against him here is amazing. Of course, I try not to think about this.

"Before going on court, you feel the tension and what is coming against you. I always try to prepare in the best possible way and be ready for every situation, so I'm happy with how I did that today."