New Delhi: Coming into the French Open final, the one question that had not been answered in the bubbling rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner was how would they hold up with a major title on the line. They had showcased their class progressionally in the Round of 16, the quarters and the semi-finals.On Sunday, they took that up multifold with a five-hour 29-minute classic that became the longest Roland Garros final in the Open Era. A running forehand down the line winner later, it was Alcaraz who kept his flawless record in major finals alive.The Spaniard came from two sets down to win 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 to stage a comeback for the history books. In what transpired as the second-longest Grand Slam final since 1968, when the Open Era began, Alcaraz saved three championship points while serving at 3-5 (0-40) in the fourth set.In the decider, Alcaraz led 5-3, got broken, and needed a super tie-break to become only the third man this century – after Gustavo Kuerten and Rafael Nadal – to defend the French Open title. He also became just the third man in the Open Era – after Gaston Gaudio and Novak Djokovic – to save a championship point enroute to a Grand Slam title.
The match of extremely small, razor thin margins had Sinner win 193 of the 385 total points while Alcaraz, who won his fifth Grand Slam title, had one less.“This was the most exciting match that I’ve played so far without a doubt,” said Alcaraz. “I think the match had everything.”“Today was all about believing in myself. Never doubted myself today and I tried to go for it,” he said. “Real champions are made in those situations,” he added.After two hours and 12 minutes, Sinner led the match by two sets and the points breakdown by nine (82-73).As the match progressed, ticking past the four-hour mark, another powerful stat emerged. Sinner had never won a match that went past four hours (0-5). At the other end, Alcaraz had never won after losing the first two sets (0-8). One of the two were primed to end that drought with blows from the back getting fiercer and touches at the net getting silkier.You could not put this past Alcaraz who has had bad starts in major finals before only to win the tournament anyway. He trailed Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final and Alexander Zverev here last year.And that streak continued in Paris on Sunday as the 22-year-old banked on the crowd and his typical never-say-die attitude to reel off four straight games in the third set to relegate Sinner to his first set dropped in the tournament.
Then, again, standing a point away from defeat, Alcaraz polished off five straight points to hold serve at 3-5 in the fourth set. He then broke Sinner’s serve with the Italian attempting to clinch his third straight major title.The crowd vehemently supported Alcaraz as he bagged the tiebreak in the fourth set and forced a decisive fifth set. The Spaniard’s racket, masquerading as a magic wand, started to produce astounding drop shots from deep with cross-court forehands landing in with plenty of zip and accuracy.In a match of unending twists, it was Sinner’s turn to add some drama to the mix with Alcaraz broken at 5-4 when serving for the title. The World No. 1 picked three games in a row to overturn a 3-5 deficit into a 6-5 lead.
Carlos Alcaraz has successfully defended his French Open crown with the win over Jannik Sinner in the final (Image via X)
In the 10-point tiebreak that followed, Alcaraz showed the three C’s that have been passed on from his grandfather – cabeza (head), corazon (heart) and cojones (balls). He didn’t shy away from referring to all three in the aftermath.“To put it to words was just happened is really difficult honestly. Two sets down against the World No. 1, with the level that he was playing. I just put my heart into it and tried to keep it going. Never gave up. I was just fighting. Point after point. In the end it was all heart,” he said on Eurosport.“I played with my grandfather’s three Cs. My grandfather is proud. After the match I played, I think I can say that (cojones),” he added.
Carlos Alcaraz after winning the French Open final (Image via X)
Two weeks ago, it was Nadal who was feted on Court Philippe-Chatrier. For his 14 titles here and a jaw-dropping 112-4 win-loss record. Alcaraz was one of the thousands in attendance then, beaming, all smiles as his idol was celebrated.In a full circle moment, a fortnight later it was another Spaniard who was celebrated and feted for a trophy run. It was Alcaraz who stood atop the podium with the Coupe des Mousquetaires in tow.His trophy count in Paris may only read two, dwarfed by Nadal’s superhuman tally, but the signs of a legend are there. At 22 years, 1 month and 3 days, Alcaraz has won his fifth Grand Slam title – the EXACT same age as Nadal when he achieved the same feat.
Alcaraz vs Sinner or Federer vs Nadal?
There have been only 12 matches in this Alcaraz vs Sinner rivalry with the Spaniard leading by 8-4 having polished off the last five matches. The duel between them is eerily similar to that of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s historic tussles.Federer, who had a positive head-to-head record against much of the tour during his prime, only struggled to fend off Nadal with their rivalry finishing off at 24-16 in favour of the Spaniard.Sinner can relate with that stat. Since 2024, his win-loss record stands at 91-8. Remove Alcaraz out of that equation and it gets refreshed to 91-3. The last time the 23-year-old had a win over Alcaraz was back in September 2023.Even if the rivalry looks skewed on paper, on court, where it all matters, the margins, like on Sunday, is just a point. And we’re here for it – and Carlos agrees.“This is the first match in a Grand Slam final. Hopefully not the last time,” said Alcaraz.“Because I mean, as I said many times, every time that we face against each other, we raise our level to the top.”