From a beaten position, Alcaraz fights against Sinner and wins the historic final of Roland Garros

The men’s finale of Roland Garros is three hours and nine minutes on the road when Jannik Sinner, the number 1 in the world, gets three match points. The dream final seems to be over after four sets. Sinner is too stable, Alcaraz is a bit too boisterous, the Italian is just a little better until that point.

But two hours and twenty minutes later it is the Spaniard who crowded himself with a last brilliant winner as champion of the tournament. He does this after a blood-curdling fifth set and a decisive tiebreak in which he played tennis « from another planet, » said Eurosport commentator Kristie Boogert.

The question was for a long time whether the men’s tennis would produce worthy successors from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the three that played so many unforgettable finals against each other. On Sunday in Paris, Alcaraz and Sinner gave the answer by five hours and nine minutes at top level to compete with each other for each point. Time and again the defender became an attacker, and the dominant player was pushed back into the defense just before.

The expectations were already high. The number one opposite the number two. The man who had not yet lost the entire tournament (Sinner) against the defending champion who had won their last four intermits (Alcaraz). A contrast in playing styles and in personalities, a rivalry with the characteristic that almost every mutual game is long, exciting and intense. This was the first time that the two met on the highest stage: the final of a grand slam.

It became the longest Roland Garros final ever, all expectations were easily exceeded. The first game lasted eleven minutes. The rallies were long, with beautiful winners, but also unnecessary errors on both sides. Sinner soon had to eliminate several break chances, the tension was right right away. That was no different in the rest of the party.

High pace

The pace was incredibly high, with striking, hard blows back and forth. Both players were aggressive, tried to dictate the rallies and take the balls ‘early’. It was the first two sets of Sinner to make it stable, made the least mistakes and kept control over the hard strokes of his opponent.

Alcaraz started more aggressively, but was also sloppy. His famous dropshot, with which he normally manages to win so many points, often went wrong or fell too far behind the net to be deadly. That was also the merit of the Italian: it is so fast that Alcaraz is forced to play the Dropshot very briefly, with all the risk of it.

When Alcaraz lost the second set in the tiebreak and immediately submitted his service game in the third set, it was obvious that Sinner would decide the final simply and smoothly. But that was considered outside the fighting spirit of the Spaniard, who boosted himself with his fist for the service of his opponent.

It helped: he broke Sinner’s service not one, but twice. The drama of the third set was not over yet, because Alcaraz also had to return his service when he served at 5-3 for the set. In order to easily win the service game of the Italian, and with it the third set.

In the fourth set it seemed over. Alcaraz had three match points to be processed at a 5-3 deficit. It is precisely at those difficult moments that the Spaniard showed how much he has his nerves under control. It is precisely then that he played his best, his most dominant tennis, in supreme concentration.

In addition, Alcaraz had the audience on his hand and he played with that by celebrating won points exuberantly. It gave him the energy to also be sharp in Sinner’s service game. The Italian served for the competition, but let himself be bluffed. In the end, Alcaraz found the escape route to a fifth set via a tiebreak.

Long after Sinner sat on his bench, Alcaraz was still celebrating the set win.

Fitting lock

The fifth set was also long and full of drama. Alcaraz continued where he had left and immediately broke the service of Sinner, who started to get it physically difficult. The competition seemed to be finally in favor of the number two in the world, but still got a last exciting turn.

Alcaraz did not succeed in serving in the competition. And again the set went to a tiebreak. It was a suitable end of a match in which both players were hardly inferior to each other.

In the tiebreak it was Alcaraz who reached a level that was hard to comprehend. Everything he tried succeeded. The winners flew Sinner around the ears, who suddenly had little to say. It became 10-2. The fact that Alcaraz decided the final with a winner from almost beaten position could symbolize the course of one of the most beautiful grand slam finals in history.

The thriller was able to count on crazy reactions from people from the tennis world and beyond on Sunday and Monday. Rafael Nadal, a fourteen-time winner on the Court Philippe-Chatrier, was one of the first to respond to social media. « What a final, incredible! » He congratulated both men on the great struggle they had delivered. At the age of 22 and 34 days, Alcaraz was one day older than when Nadal achieved his fifth grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2008.

In his victory speech, Alcaraz spoke about the comeback he had to make, something that he had never succeeded in. « When I felt bad and had no power anymore, I tried to think of Rafa (Nadal), and all the comebacks he made. »

Tennis legend Billie Jean King also made himself heard on X. « After an epic match of cinematographic proportions, Carlos Alcaraz is the champion, » she wrote. The Australian eleven -time grand slam winner Rod Laver was « still enjoying that incredible men’s finale, » he wrote. « My heart goes out to Jannik Sinner, who showed real class in his defeat. »

Footballers

While Alcaraz and Sinner played the final in Paris, the selection of the Spanish football team in Munich was preparing for the final of the Nations League against Portugal. An hour before the game, a group of players stood around a phone to see tennis tennis.

Also in Zeist enthusiastic ‘OEHs’ and ‘AHs’ sounded. The Dutch national team, who is preparing for the World Cup qualifying match against Malta on Tuesday evening, had hung a large screen to watch the game. The players were visibly impressed by the KNVB.

Football club Real Madrid said it was proud of the performance of their fellow townsman. « Congratulations, best @carlosalcaraz, with your second consecutive Roland Garros title, your fifth Grand Slam, achieved in such a spectacular way. All Madridistas are happy and proud of this brilliant success of one of their own people. »

Alcaraz itself denied in an interview with the British TNT Sports that this grand slam final could be the best tennis competition of all time. « There have been better finals, » he thought. « But I am already happy that our competition and names will enter the history of the Grand Slams, of Roland Garros. The discussion (about the best tennis match ever), I will leave that to others. »

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