Alcaraz Conquers Roland Garros in an Epic Battle
Carlos Alcaraz demonstrated his composure and resilience by coming back from two sets down and saving three match points to defeat Jannik Sinner in the French Open final, winning his second consecutive title at Roland Garros. In a match full of emotions and unexpected twists, Alcaraz prevailed with scores of 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3) and 7-6 (10-2), in a match that lasted 5 hours and 29 minutes, becoming the longest men’s final in the history of the tournament and the second longest in the Open era of the Grand Slams.The 22-year-old Spanish tennis player found himself in a critical situation in the fourth set, losing 5-3 and 0-40 on his serve, but managed to recover to force a tiebreak and take the set. In the fifth set, after losing an initial advantage, Alcaraz once again demonstrated his mental strength, securing the victory and raising his record in decisive set tiebreaks to 12-2. This victory represents the fifth Grand Slam crown for Alcaraz, who joins a select group of tennis players in the Open era who have successfully defended the Roland Garros title. In addition, he became the first player since Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon 2019 to win a Grand Slam final after saving match points. Alcaraz, who now has a 5-0 record in Grand Slam finals and extends his head-to-head advantage against Sinner to 8-4, reflected on the importance of maintaining faith and calm in crucial moments.The match isn’t over until you win the last point. I wanted to be one of those players who saves match points in a Grand Slam final and ends up winning.
Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz’s victory resonated with a special coincidence: he achieved his fifth Grand Slam title at the same age as Rafael Nadal when he reached the same milestone. Nadal was among the first to congratulate Alcaraz on social media.When situations turn against you, you have to fight, keep fighting. It’s a Grand Slam final. It’s not the time to get tired, nor to give up. It’s time to keep fighting, try to find your moment, your good place, and simply go for it.
Carlos Alcaraz
Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz’s coach, highlighted the magnitude of the comeback, even surpassing the victory in the 2022 US Open quarterfinals, where Alcaraz saved a match point against Sinner. Sinner, visibly affected by the defeat, acknowledged the high level of the match, but regretted not having taken advantage of the key opportunities he had.Honestly, matching winning my fifth Grand Slam at the same age as Rafa Nadal, I’ll say it’s destiny, I suppose. It’s a statistic that I will keep forever, winning the fifth Grand Slam at the same time as Rafa, my idol, my inspiration. It’s a great honor.
Carlos Alcaraz
