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Tom’s Guide
Technology
Aatif Sulleyman

How to watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live stream: French Open tennis start time, TV channel

Close-up of Novak Djokovic of Serbia vigorously striking a tennis ball during the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros.

As soon as the men's singles draw at the French Open was made, attention immediately turned to today's Alcaraz vs Djokovic live stream in the semi-finals. The biggest matchup in tennis is now upon us and both the world number one and the player looking for the outright lead for men's Grand Slam titles will step onto Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros in what will surely be an epic battle. 

Read on and we'll show you how to watch from anywhere with a VPN, and potentially for FREE.

It's a beautiful day on Court Philippe Chatrier with both players coming into this one clear of any injuries. The winner faces whoever comes through the Casper Ruud vs Alexander Zverev match that follows them. The final is on Sunday.

The players are on court and play is underway.

Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams: TV schedule, dates

Alcaraz vs Djokovic is scheduled today (Friday, June 9) not before 8.45 a.m. EDT / 5.45 a.m. PDT /  1.45 p.m. BST.
► U.S. — NBC, Tennis Channel and Peacock
► U.K. — Discovery Plus
► Watch anywhere — Try ExpressVPN 100% risk free

It's hard to believe but this is Carlos Alcaraz's first French Open semi-final. The Spaniard is the youngest-ever world number one, won his first Grand Slam at last year's US Open, and announced himself to the wider tennis world at Roland Garros last year before falling to Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals. The Spaniard has dropped just one set from his five wins to the last four, his 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (5) destruction of fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was a visceral demonstration of the brutal groundstrokes that define the 20-year-old's game. Motivation isn't exactly hard to come by; Alcaraz is going for his first French title, while also trying to keep mentor and compatriot Rafael Nadal tied with his opponent on a joint-record 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles.

Novak Djokovic's route to yet another French Open semi-final has been as serene as Alcaraz's. The Serbian, who dropped his first set of the tournament during his quarter-final defeat of Karen Khachanov, is a machine of nerveless winning mentality and immense physical preparation despite struggling during the majority of the European clay court season. The 36-year-old continues to bely his age and will no doubt treat this semi-final as if it were the final. And having won five of the last seven majors he's contested, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Djoko has his eye on an eighth. 

What will prevail – Alcaraz's shot making and staggering baseline strength or Djokovic's experience and steadfast refusal to accept he's ever out of a point? Here's how to tune into Alcaraz vs Djokovic online and watch today's French Open semi-final from anywhere.

FREE Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams

How to watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams for FREE in 2023

If you're lucky enough to live in Australia, France or Austria then you can look forward to a FREE Alcaraz vs Djokovic live stream from Roland-Garros in 2023.

That's because the free-to-air Channel 9 and its 9Now streaming service in Australia, France.TV in France and ServusTV in Austria all have rights to the action. 

But what if you're based in one of those countries but aren't at home to catch that Alcaraz vs Djokovic live stream? Maybe you're on holiday and don't want to spend money on pay TV in another country, when you'd usually be able to watch for free at home?

Don't worry — you can watch it via a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.

Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams around the world

How to watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams from anywhere with a VPN

It's natural that you might want to watch an Alcaraz vs Djokovic live stream from your home country, but what if you're not there when the match is on?

Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.

For instance, an Australian who's currently in the U.S. could watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams on 9Now, even though they're not in Australia.

They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite right now is ExpressVPN. It's fast, works on loads of devices and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view an Australian service, you'd select Australia from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to 9Now or another website and watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic.

How to watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams in the US

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

If you're in the U.S. you have a couple of options to watch an Alcaraz vs Djokovic live stream at the French Open. Viewers can tune in on the Tennis Channel, as well as Peacock

Alcaraz vs Djokovic will start no earlier than 8.45 a.m. EDT / 5.45 a.m. PDT on Friday morning, so don't forget to set an alarm.

NBC, which is also providing coverage of the French Open, can be accessed with one of the best TV antennas, while the Tennis Channel is available in some cable packages. 

If you've cut the cord and don't have cable, you can watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic via several live TV services, including NBC's own Peacock, plus Sling TV and Fubo.

Of these options, we recommend Peacock: It costs just $4.99/month with ads, or $9.99 without, and includes lots more great content in addition to French Open live streams from Roland-Garros.

If you go the Sling TV route, you'll want Sling Blue, which is $40 per month and comes with more than 40 channels, including NBC (in select regions). You can also add on the Tennis Channel as part of its Sports Extra package, for an extra $11/month. On the plus side, right now Sling is offering $20 off the first month

Fubo, meanwhile, costs $75 per month for 121 channels. Sports fans will find a number of niche sports channels among its lineup. 

If you already use those services but aren't in the U.S. right now, you can watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams by using a VPN such as ExpressVPN. And if, for whatever reason, you can't get it working, do remember that you have the comfort of a 30-day money back guarantee with ExpressVPN.

How to watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams in the UK

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

British tennis lovers can watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams from Roland-Garros with Discovery Plus and EurosportAs Eurosport is part of Discovery Plus, it doesn't matter one which you subscribe to.

Alcaraz vs Djokovic will start no earlier than 1.45 p.m. BST on Friday afternoon.

Discovery Plus is available for £6.99/month or £59.99/year. You can sign up for Discovery Plus here, or access the service via Amazon Prime Video — and here you can get a seven-day free trial of the service. Plus, if you don't already have Amazon Prime itself, you can get a 30-day free trial of that too. 

On holiday this week? Sign up to ExpressVPN or another VPN service and you'll be able to use the services you already subscribe to.

How to watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams in Canada

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Tennis fans in Canada can watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic along with all the French Open action on TSN (in English) or RSN (in French), as part of a cable TV package. 

Just note that Alcaraz vs Djokovic will start at approximately 8.45 a.m. EDT / 5.45 a.m. PDT first thing on Friday morning, so be prepared to miss out on some sleep.

If you've cut the cord, you can sign up for TSN or RDS streaming accounts for $19.99 (CAD) a month or $199.90 per year.

Not at home right now? Use ExpressVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Canada.

How to watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic live streams in Australia

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

As explained above, Aussies can watch an Alcaraz vs Djokovic live stream for free on 9Now.

Alcaraz vs Djokovic will start no earlier than 10.45 p.m. AEST late on Friday evening.

The big match will likely air on the free-to-view 9Gem channel and via the on-demand service 9Now, but if not, every game is being live streamed ad-free and in up to 4K on Stan Sport.

Stan can be accessed via a wide variety of devices including many smart TVs, iOS and Android phones, Chromecast, Apple TV and more — plus it costs a very reasonable $20 AUD per month ($10 for a standard subscription and $10 for the Sport add-on). A 30-day FREE trial gives you a taste of the platform — and the good news is that the Sport add-on also has a 7-day FREE trial.

You'll need to pay extra to access HD or 4K streams and to increase the number of devices you watch on, but even if you go for the full-fat Premium sub with the Sport add-on, you'd still only be looking at $29/month.

Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN, such as ExpressVPN, to watch Alcaraz vs Djokovic on your Stan account, as if you were back home.

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