‘Insanity’: Alcaraz topples Sinner in legendary French Open final

Source : ABC NEWS

Carlos Alcaraz came back from the dead in one of the greatest of all grand slam finals, saving three match points in the fourth set before rallying to outlast Jannik Sinner and successfully defend his French Open crown.

After the longest and perhaps most epic of all Roland Garros showdowns — lasting five hours and 29 minutes — champion Alcaraz finally prevailed 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 [10-2] against world number one Sinner to win his fifth grand slam in a true Sunday spectacular.

There seemed no way back for the 22-year-old Spaniard when he trailed 3-5, 0-40 in the fourth set with Sinner poised to win his third slam in a row after wins in the US Open and Australian Open.

But summoning up incredible resolve as well as extraordinary brilliance, Alcaraz, on his way to winning from two sets down for the first time in his stellar career, surged back to take the fourth set and then forge into a 5-3 lead in the decider.

But again, the match wasn’t over as Sinner, defying his evident fatigue, broke back when Alcaraz served for the match at 5-4, dragging the incredible contest, full of amazing, lung-busting rallies, into a match tiebreak as it went into its sixth wondrous hour.

Again, Alcaraz raised his game to sublime levels, dominating the breaker and striking one last superlative forehand on the run — incredibly, his 70th winner of the match to Sinner’s 53 — to seal the title.

It was the perfect way to end a scintillating duel between the two young modern masters — the first time a grand slam final has been contested by two men born this century — as Alcaraz enjoyed a fifth successive win over the Italian to end Sinner’s 20-match winning streak in the majors.

After receiving the trophy from 1999 champion Andre Agassi, Alcaraz paid tribute to his opponent who was returning to the grand slam arena after serving a three-month doping ban.

“Jannik, it’s amazing the level you reach,” he told Sinner at the presentation. 

“I am sure you will be champion many, many times and it is a privilege to share the court with you and making history with you.

“I’m just really happy to be able to make history with you in this tournament, in other tournaments. You are a huge inspiration for everyone and myself.”

This felt like indisputable evidence that the future of men’s tennis belongs to the pair of them, as the two shooting stars have now won the past six grand slams between them. It used to be the ‘big four’, but now it looks for all the world like a ‘big two’.

Their incredible joust in a final had only ever been beaten in length by the 5 hour 53 minute epic between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open.

In terms of quality, though, perhaps only the Roger Federer and Nadal five-set classic at Wimbledon in 2008 could top this, even though these two youngsters were taking the power and speed levels to freakish new peaks.

“It is easier to play than to talk right now,” a crestfallen Sinner said. 

“We tried our best today. We gave everything we had. Some time ago, we would have loved to be here so it’s still been an amazing tournament.

“Even though it is very difficult right now, it is OK.”

Experts rate final as one of the best ever

Praise for the match flowed on social media, as tennis experts weighed-in on where the final stood as one of the greatest in history.

“The level of this whole match was insanity,” Australia’s top-ranked men’s player Alex de Minaur posted on X.

“What a day to be a fan of this beautiful sport.”

Former American player Pam Shriver posted asked “when will we see this score line again in a major final?”, while US great Chris Evert was more direct.

“Give the trophy to both of them,” Evert said.

Fellow American champ John McEnroe said he felt Sinner and Alcaraz were at a level where they could have beaten Nadal at his best.

“You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best,” he said.

“Do I think they’re going to reach 20, 24 (grand slams), either one of them? No, because that plateau is so hard.

“But these two guys right now, it’s like when you watch the NBA and you say nobody could be better than Michael Jordan.

“The tennis level right now is higher than I’ve ever seen.”

AAP/ABC