Carlos alcaraz comes back from the dead to beat jannik sinner in all time great contest to retain french open men’s singles title

Carlos alcaraz comes back from the dead to beat jannik sinner in all time great contest to retain french open men’s singles title

As Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner went into the sixth hour of their titanic battle in Sunday’s French Open final, one distinct quality separated the two players in a match where advantages were gained and lost, momentum shifted, and levels of tennis went up and down gears.

On the biggest stages such as this, crucial moments are often seized by nerveless ease under pressure. The glow of the spotlight cannot dim one’s abilities, but should actually make them shine brighter. And Alcaraz has a certain predilection for the spotlight that few, or any, of his contemporaries have shown in the recent history of men’s tennis.

The Spaniard would defend his Roland Garros title, win his fifth Grand Slam title and become the only player other than Roger Federer to win his first five Major finals after coming out on top in an epic five-set battle 4-6 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) in five hours and 29 minutes. Down three match points after spending most of four sets being stretched to all corners of the court and being blown away by Sinner from the baseline, Alcaraz came up with his very best.

He stubbornly stuck to his guns, applied the same weight of shot to his huge forehand, and artistry to his variegated game, to win 13 of the next 14 points, break Sinner as he served for the match, and then thundered his way through the resultant tie-breaker to steal the fourth set.

In the ensuing fifth set, he had all the momentum his way until Sinner was the one who rose from the dead, breaking the Spaniard when he served for the match and producing some rollicking tennis to take the contest into the first-to-10-points tiebreaker.

Once again, as an ocean of pressure surrounded him, as hours of tennis went into his legs, as the crowd grew wild, Alcaraz produced a perfect exhibition of tennis in the match tiebreaker. He was clutch in the big moments: the one thing that separated these two phenomenally talented young players in a tightly-fought encounter that went to the wire.

In a high-wire contest of momentum swings, destructive shot making, and a distinct contrast of approaches, Alcaraz defeated the 23-year-old World No. 1 from Italy in a match that will be remembered for years and signal the new generation coming out of the shadow of the previous Big Three – Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The wildness of this match and the sky-high intensity that the two players produced was representative of the ridiculous look of the scoreline.

The match did not have some of the sustained high-quality tennis that these two have produced in the past, but given the high-stakes occasion and the sheer ability both showed in not relenting under pressure, the five-and-a-half-hour-long slugfest will go down as one of the most enthralling finals ever witnessed on the hallowed, unforgiving red clay of Court Philippe Chatrier.

Sinner would leave as the loser only by the barest of margins, having played a phenomenal match but not decisively coming up with the goods in the most important moments. This is the bridge he still needs to cross, despite being the dominant World No. 1 who has won 47 of his last 50 matches (each of the three losses coming against Alcaraz), as he needs to outlast his opponents, not only outplay them.

Match of fine margins

Alcaraz was patchy, at times outplayed, and made a bunch of errors in the first half of the match, but held his nerve and produced his best when put under the most intense pressure, a mark of greatness, the same quality he has been marked for as he has risen remarkably up the ranks of tennis to become the man to beat at the Majors.

For most of the contest, Sinner was the superior player. His crosscourt backhand singing the court, his forehands on the run finding accuracy and power, his returns right down the middle disrupting Alcaraz’s rhythm. He had met the challenge and raised his level when put under pressure, and was the better player in the decisive moments over the first two sets.

This was a clash of different approaches. Sinner had brilliantly executed a clear-headed gameplan that had gained him so much success throughout this tournament. Alcaraz was instead playing far more on instinct, going for broke and the spectacular more often, playing big even when not required. It resulted in massive winners and highlight-worthy moments, but also several errors.

In the opening two sets, Sinner had shown composure and just played the decisive moments better, Alcaraz’s errors giving him the breakthrough in the first, and his nerveless display in the tie-breaker (after again failing to serve out the set) giving him the edge in the second.

Alcaraz went up a gear in the third, as the defending champion and a four-time Major winner is bound to do, but Sinner never left him. The two traded barbs as the contest improved in both quality and intensity, hitting destructive shots from the baseline but also coming up with creative ways to finish points: drop shots, volleys, lobs and approach shots.

A fragility on serve proved key, Sinner went up a break but conceded it immediately. Alcaraz served for the set but conceded that, and Sinner made no good use of it either.

The fourth set would not have been particularly daunting for Sinner, a 2-1 set lead is hardly a disadvantage. He had the confidence in his firepower to know that he could rely on his well-worked game plan and execute it to good effect. And so he did, fashioning a chance to serve for the match, before, for the first time, blinking under the pressure and wasting his chance to serve for the match. Alcaraz was back, and he never ceded ground.

The fifth set produced some of the best tennis of this encounter, both players giving their best together for the first time in the match and then exchanging barbs; Alcaraz going ahead first, Sinner coming back big, and Alcaraz coming up with his best in the match tie-breaker.

Ultimately, it would be Alcaraz’s tendency to raise his game when put under the most pressure that made the difference. It is an ability that his opponent, in a rivalry expected to guide this sport into an exciting new era, must unquestionably imbibe in his more grounded, consistent, and methodical game. A little bit of flash.