Roland-Garros: Carlos Alcaraz remains the king after an epic duel with world number 1 Jannik Sinner

Concluded 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (10/2), the fight was titanic between two players who showed why they were the two new undisputed bosses of world tennis: 5h29 of a heroic fight, the longest final in the history of the tournament (4h42 so far), a succession of winning shots in the line, turnarounds...

Among the duels that have gone down in tennis history, there were the Borg-McEnroe duel of 1980 and the Federer-Nadal duel of 2008 at Wimbledon, the Sampras-Agassi duel of 2001 at the US Open, and the Djokovic-Nadal duel of 2012 in Australia. To this list of masterpieces, we must now add this stratospheric Sinner-Alcaraz duel.

"The level of play you have is fantastic. I'm really excited to write the history of this tournament with you," Alcaraz told Sinner on court after receiving the Musketeers Cup from Andre Agassi.

Trailing two sets to nothing by a clinical Sinner, the 22-year-old Spaniard believed in it until the end to win his second consecutive title in Paris, his fifth in a Grand Slam, by inflicting on the Italian his first defeat in a Major final.

Alcaraz, having already triumphed at the US Open in 2022, at Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024 and in Paris in 2024, maintains his perfect record in Grand Slam finals, the supreme altitude of tennis where he has never yet known defeat.

Already crowned at the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo in April and then in Rome in May, he also finished the European clay court season with a record of 22 wins and just one defeat... The defeat in the Olympic final last summer on the same Parisian court is forgotten.

At Roland Garros, he faced Jannik Sinner in the final, whom he had already beaten in mid-May in Rome where the Italian was returning from a three-month suspension following positive tests for an anabolic steroid.

A sign that tennis has entered a new era, this final was the first Grand Slam between two players born in the 21st century, the new rivalry on the men's tour since the retirement of most of the members of the "Big 4" and the inevitable twilight of Novak Djokovic.

Regularity

The Murcian was very aggressive from the start and his persistence was rewarded with a break on his seventh chance to lead 3-2. The Italian immediately reacted by pressuring his opponent on his serve with returns that thwarted Alcaraz.

Trailing 5-4 on his serve, the Spaniard lost the first set after a backhand that crashed into the net before going out.

In the second set, Sinner responded to the Spaniard's relentless assaults with an imperious defense, especially in the tiebreak. Things then looked very bleak for Alcaraz, whose consistency over a single match was sometimes questioned. "Maintaining consistency when you hit with so much power is sometimes very difficult," said his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, winner in 2003 in Paris.

With his back to the wall, Alcaraz had no choice but to rebel. He did so successfully at first, as, much more incisive on his forehand and serve, he led 4-1 before letting Sinner come back. But full of determination, haranguing the crowd, Alcaraz broke his opponent's serve to clinch the third set.

Alcaraz seemed to pay for this burst of energy in the fourth set, when he was down 0-40 on his serve at 5-3 for the Italian. But to the roars of a supportive crowd, he saved three match points before snatching the fourth set in a tiebreak.

Super tie-break

It seemed as though the Italian wouldn't recover, especially after the Spaniard's opening break in the final set with a well-aimed drop shot. But Sinner is a great champion: it was up to him to break his opponent's serve while he was serving for the match...

The matter was decided in a super tiebreak. And this time, Sinner took a knee. "Carlitos" dominated him head and shoulders, firing off the winning shots he's known for on big nights—missiles down the line, drop shots, volleys—to give himself seven match points. He only needed one before he could hug his team.

In the ATP rankings, Alcaraz's victory allows him to narrow the gap with the world number one to 2,030 points. But the key lies elsewhere: this duel promises to be a long one, much to the delight of tennis fans. The next possible episode is the Wimbledon final, where Alcaraz is the two-time defending champion.