By Julien Pretot

PARIS (Reuters) -A physically and mentally drained Lorenzo Musetti paid a heavy price for his superb claycourt season as he was forced to retire from a gripping French Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz on Friday.

The Italian craftsman threw in the towel while trailing 4-6 7-6(3) 6-0 2-0 having bagged the opening set in emphatic fashion, but a growing pain in his left leg eventually put an end to his dream of reaching a maiden Grand Slam final.

“I started feeling this discomfort in the first games of the third set. I tried to manage it, but I felt I was losing more and more strength and power in that muscle, and eventually, I just couldn’t keep up in the rallies,” the world number seven told a press conference.

“At that point, it was risky to force it — I wasn’t ab

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