Carlos Alcaraz Breaks 48-Year History by Saving Three Championship Points to Defend his Roland Garros Title Against Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in the longest French Open men's final to defend his French Open crown.

Carlos Alcaraz Breaks 48-Year History by Saving Three Championship Points to Defend his Roland Garros Title Against Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Alcaraz archive, Jannik Sinner HQ)

In what was the first Grand Slam final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, one had to taste their first defeat in a championship match of this category. And it was Alcaraz, who clinched the entertaining final with a 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) scoreline in over five hours!

From the very beginning, the match was a tight affair. The first game ended after more than 10 minutes in favor of Sinner.

After much toil, Sinner was on the verge of winning the first and eventually broke Alcaraz’s serve to take the set 6-4. He carried his momentum to the next set and after a tight first game, Sinner took a 3-0 lead but next, he failed to break Alcaraz’s serve.

When he needed two games to win, Alcaraz tried to force a comeback, adding intensity to his shots, winning three consecutive games to tie the score to 5-5. Sinner won the next game but the Spaniard took advantage of Sinner’s unforced errors in the following game to race to 40-0 before tying it to 6-6 to force the tie-breaker.

After a tough tie-breaker, Sinner served for the second set at 6-2. One of his shots hit the net and it was time for Alcaraz to serve. But Alcaraz couldn’t stop Sinner for much longer and the latter took a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third set, Alcaraz broke Sinner’s serve for the third consecutive time, before winning three games on the trot but couldn’t break him in the sixth game. Next, he broke Sinner again and was a game away from securing his first set.

Another win and he was just a game away from securing his first set. Sinner, however, won the next and later broke the 22-year-old. But after a few more intense rallies, Alcaraz finally was successful in clinching the set.

For the first time in this French Open, Sinner dropped a set. Prior to the final, he somehow wrapped up his match in straight sets against 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

The fourth set too was no different. By the time they had leveled the scores to 3-3, more than three hours had passed. Alcaraz’s perhaps biggest weapon during a rally is drop shots. But this time, Sinner had answers to those, though not every time he was successful in winning points.

Sinner clinched his first drop shot win of the match in the seventh game and later clinched two games. Now, he had to break Alcaraz to script history but the latter held his nerves and didn’t let that happen. Sinner then served for the match but Alcaraz turned the table after clinching two consecutive games, saving three consecutive match points in the process.

By this time, three hours and 48 minutes had passed and Sinner had never won a match in his career that exceeded this time. Alcaraz shouted ‘Vamos’ after taking a 6-5 lead in the fourth set. Sinner then forced a second tie-breaker, which Alcaraz won; and the match, as expected, was extended to the fifth set!

Another hour passed and still, both the youngsters grind on the court. The match was pushed to the tie-breaker and Alcaraz raced to a 7-0 lead, winning nine points in a row, before quickly winning one of the most incredible matches in the history of Grand Slam events.

Carlos Alcaraz becomes second player after Bjorn Borg to defend his French Open and Wimbledon crown

Carlos Alcaraz now broke a 48-year history by becoming the first player since Bjorn Borg to defend his French Open and Wimbledon crown. He has also become the third youngest player to win five Grand Slam singles titles after Borg (21) and Rafael Nadal (22).

Carlos Alcaraz Roland Garros
Carlos Alcaraz (image via Roland Garros)

Before this final, while Sinner went past Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz received a walkover from Lorenzo Musetti. Last year, en route to lifting his maiden French Open title by beating Alexander Zverev, he had to overcome Sinner in five sets.

Alcaraz was bidding to win his fourth title of the season, following his victories in Rotterdam, Monte Carlo, and Rome. Sinner was chasing his second title after defending his Australian Open crown by beating Zverev. He then missed the next three months because of his doping ban. Sinner made his comeback at the Italian Open, reaching the final only to lose to Alcaraz.

The now five-time Grand Slam champion took a 8-4 head-to-head record over the three-time Major winner. It was also his fifth consecutive win over his rival.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Is Confident His “Special Charm” at Wimbledon Will Bring out the Best in Him