By Uche Amako
Move over, the “Big Three”.
The narrative of this French Open final – the longest ever played – could fill an entire book. Both players found a second and even a third wind while competing at the peak of their powers.
Carlos Alcaraz completed one of the most mind-boggling comebacks in tennis history, recovering from a two-set deficit against Jannik Sinner and saving three match points on his way to a 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 victory in five hours and 29 minutes.
When the pressure reached its maximum, so did Alcaraz. The most gifted player of his generation, the 22-year-old stepped up to a level that no man alive could have matched, swinging with freedom and ferocity as he swept to a 7-0 lead in the concluding tie-break.
Many fans were confused at this moment, not being familiar with the recent law change which requires the players to reach 10 in a deciding-set tie-break. But they were delighted too, because nobody wanted the drama to be over.
In the end, Alcaraz took the super tie-break by a 10-2 margin with his 70th winner of an unbelievable afternoon, lacing a perfect forehand passing shot up the line while at a dead run.
It is normal for players to fall on their back in this situation, but Alcaraz was moving so fast that he slumped onto his side in sheer exultation and relief. He had just become the first man to save three match points on the way to victory in a major final.
You had to feel for Sinner, who had not only dominated the early stages with his laser-guided forehand, but also came back from a debilitating attack of cramp in the early stages of the fifth set.
As the players sat down at 2-1 in the decider, one wondered if Sinner would even be able to see the set out. The 23-year-old has a reputation for being weak in long matches, having never claimed a victory that lasted more than three hours and 48 minutes. Yet he downed a bottle of pickle juice – the saltiest liquid available – to boost his electrolyte levels, and came surging back.
Sinner had already failed to serve out the win at 5-4 in the fourth set, thanks to some spectacular counter-attacking from Alcaraz. Now the Italian returned the favour, finding unsuspected reserves of energy as he scooted around the court like a cyborg with a new battery.
A shattered Jannik Sinner after the final.Credit: AP
Such resilience should have put paid to any idea that Sinner is no long-distance scrapper. He would have got the job done against anyone else. But the key point about Alcaraz is that he owns a higher top level than any other player – maybe not only now but in the entire modern era.
Because of his drop shots and his variety, the Spaniard can be irresistible when he finds a groove. And after coming through the final service game of the match to level at 6-6, he did exactly that.
Some might query whether peak Alcaraz can really claim to be a more dynamic player than the legends – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – who came before him. But the former world No 1 Andre Agassi is certainly a believer. “This guy has defence and speed like Novak,” said Agassi in his post-match review on TNT. “He has feel like Federer. He has RPMs [in his topspin] like Rafa.”
Neither of these men had lost a major final before this shuddering collision, and you could see why. Writing on X, Stan Wawrinka – who also won one of the great Roland Garros finals when he defeated Djokovic in 2015 – said simply “Insane level”.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with ball girls and boys.Credit: AP
Alcaraz had already participated in a couple of epic grand-slam finals. Until now, his most memorable win had come when he also defeated Djokovic in five sets, navigating his way through a pulsating conclusion to lift the 2023 Wimbledon title. But this was arguably even more spine-tingling.
Sinner is such a tough opponent these days that he came into this match on a sequence of 29 straight sets won at the majors, as well as two straight titles in New York and Melbourne. To outlast him in this fashion, especially when you never previously won from two sets down, was a near-impossible feat.
After the match, Alcaraz told TNT Sport: “I think the fifth [set] was a little bit about not giving up… It was just playing with the heart and I think I did it.
“I was fighting, but honestly I didn’t know what I had to do to win this match at three match points down in the fourth [set]. I just tried not to think about anything else, just go out point after point and playing with a positive mind.”
Sinner was probably a centimetre away from the title at that stage. If you look back at footage of his missed opportunities, the first thing you notice is his mother Siglinde in the stands, speechless with emotion. The second is the high and heavy forehand that Alcaraz hits at 0-40, which lands not on the centre of the baseline but probably on its furthest edge.
Sinner manages to push that one back into play, but on his next shot, Alcaraz finds a sharp cross-court angle and the comeback is in progress. It was the starting point for an historic achievement, a feat to match anything we have seen in the modern game.
London Daily Telegraph
