It was one of the all-time great Grand Slam finals. Carlos Alcaraz recovered from two sets down – saving three championship points – to beat Jannik Sinner and defend his French Open title in an epic contest that lasted five hours and 29 minutes. How did Alcaraz do it? What were the key moments? And where does it rank among the best major finals ever?
Rarely do tennis matches live up to the hype in such spectacular fashion as the first-ever Carlos Alcaraz v Jannik Sinner Grand Slam final did.
This was a level of final rarely seen since the days of the ‘Big Four’.
It wasn’t just the length that made it an all-time classic – at five hours and 29 minutes it was the longest French Open final in history – but the quality, the relentless ball striking, the determination and bravery to go for shots.
It was the huge match-defining moments, that kept getting better and better even as the legs and minds got more and more tired, with the added thrill of knowing that these two could repeat this occasion in many more Grand Slam finals over the next decade.
Like any great final, it went back and forth, and even at the very end, could have fallen either way.
Like any great final, there was so little between the two players.
Sinner won 193 points, Alcaraz won 192.
Sinner broke serve seven times, the same as Alcaraz.
Alcaraz hit 17 more winners, but Sinner made 18 fewer errors.
Sinner hit 722 ground strokes, Alcaraz hit 711.
In the end, it was Alcaraz lifting the trophy for the second straight year, rather than Sinner holding it for the first time.
“This one was the most exciting matches that I’ve played so far, without a doubt,” said Alcaraz afterwards.
“I mean, today I think the match had everything, really good moments, really bad moments. I’m just really, really happy. I’m proud about how I dealt with everything today.
“Today there were few moments of the match that, I mean, the level was insane.”