Roland-Garros: why the Sabalenka-Gauff and Sinner-Alcaraz finals are already historic

Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff this Saturday, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. This 124th edition of Roland-Garros will end in a grand finale with two finals pitting the world numbers 1 and 2 against each other, both in the women's and men's competitions.

This dream finale is rather rare in the tournament's history. You have to go back 41 years, to 1984, to see the world's number one and two players face off in the finals of both tournaments.

That year, the Roland-Garros finals featured world number 1 Martina Navratilova versus her runner-up, Chris Evert. In the men's competition, ATP number 1 John McEnroe faced world number 2 Ivan Lendl. Navratilova and Lendl won.

In other Grand Slam tournaments, you have to go back a little further to find a final between the world number 1 and 2 in the women's and men's categories. It was in 2013, at the US Open. Serena Williams (1st) won against Victoria Azarenka (2nd), while Rafael Nadal (2nd) beat Novak Djokovic (1st).

Sunday's Sinner-Alcaraz duel is already making history for another reason. It will be the first Grand Slam final to feature two players born after 2000. Sinner was born on August 16, 2001, and Alcaraz on May 5, 2003. On Friday, following his defeat, Novak Djokovic, born in 1987, hinted that he might not return to play at Roland Garros .