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French Open 2025 doubles finals: Granollers and Zeballos defy their ages to win title

French Open 2025 doubles finals: Granollers and Zeballos defy their ages to win title

The Hindua day ago

Veterans Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos won the French Open doubles final for their first major title together, and at the combined age of 79.
Granollers, a 39-year-old from Spain, and his 40-year-old Argentine partner played in their fourth Grand Slam final as a pairing, but first at the clay-court major. They defeated British pair Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 6-0, 6-7 (5), 7-5.
Granollers and Zeballos, who were seeded fifth in Paris, were runners-up at the U.S. Open in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023.
Salisbury and Skupski were the first all-British team to reach a Grand Slam men's doubles final in the Open era. (AP) ATK

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‘I will start with Jannik': Carlos Alcaraz's speech after beating World No.1 in longest French Open final is epic
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  • Hindustan Times

‘I will start with Jannik': Carlos Alcaraz's speech after beating World No.1 in longest French Open final is epic

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the flagbearers of modern-day epic tennis rivalry, wrote a glittering, record-breaking and pulsating first chapter of what could turn out to be a regular sight for global tennis fans. The first-ever men's singles major final between players born after 2000 also turned out to be the longest French Open final, lasting five hours and 29 minutes. It was only fitting that after the match, which the Spaniard won in a comeback for the ages to defend his French Open title, both Sinner and Alcaraz started their speeches mentioning each other. Alcaraz, who saved three match points in the fourth set to beat Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2), spent the entire first half (1 minute 15 seconds of his 3 minute 30-seconds-long on-court speech) of his winner's speech talking about Sinner. Alcaraz congratulated the World No.1 for being an inspiration to himself and millions of budding tennis players across the globe. "I want to start with Jannik. It is amazing the level you have. Congratulations on an amazing two weeks. I know the hard work that you and your team put in every day. It is huge," Alcaraz said, turning to Sinner, who smiled and nodded. "I know how hard you are chasing this tournament. I'm sure you're gonna be a champion not once but many, many times. It's a privilege to share the court with you in every tournament, making history with you. I'm very happy to make history with you in this tournament and every other tournament. You are a huge inspiration for young kids, for me as well. I have to say thank you to you for being such a great inspiration. Good luck and all the best for what's coming," Alcaraz said. Alcaraz's on-court speech came moments after Sinner had started his post-match speech, explaining, albeit with a bit of difficulty to formulate words after a gutwrenching loss, the greatness of the World No. 2. "First of all, Carlos, congrats. Again, an amazing performance, amazing battle, amazing to you and your team. I'm very happy for you and you deserve it," Sinner said. It was Alcaraz and Sinner's first appearance in a Grand Slam final. Both of them were unbeaten in slam finals. Sinner was yet to lay his hands on the French Open title and Alcaraz had not gotten off to the best of starts this year. In the head-to-head record, Alcaraz had the clear upper hand, but Sinner hadn't dropped a set in his road to the final. He even brushed aside Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the semi-final. It was one of the most evenly matched and anticipated Grand Slam finals of recent times, and boy, did it live up to the hype. After 3 hours, 43 minutes, Sinner had his first match point. But with just over five hours since the match began, Alcaraz served for the title at 5-4 up. The drama was still not over. Sinner made a remarkable retrieve from yet another superb Alcaraz drop shot. At the very limit he could stretch to, Sinner glided the ball over the net, with the ball landing with the softness of an autumn leaf and out of Alcaraz's reach to make it 15-40. When Sinner won the game to make it 5-5, it was his turn to milk the applause and he was two points away from victory in the 12th game, with Alcaraz on serve and at 15-30 and at deuce. But Alcaraz made a staggering cross-court backhand to make it 6-6 and force a tiebreaker, with the crowd going wild when Alcaraz's cross-court winner made it could not find a way back and Alcaraz won the match with a superb forehand pass down the line and then fell onto his back to celebrate.

Alcaraz vs Sinner: A Roland Garros epic promising a golden post-Big Three era
Alcaraz vs Sinner: A Roland Garros epic promising a golden post-Big Three era

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Alcaraz vs Sinner: A Roland Garros epic promising a golden post-Big Three era

The Big Three, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic, would have watched Sunday's 5-hour, 29-minute epic at the French Open with a mix of pride and quiet relief. These titans forged tennis into a symphony of brilliance and passion, painting a golden era in men's singles. On Sunday, it was two young gladiators in their early twenties who took center stage, reigniting the flame of a sport many feared was losing its spark. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner traded fierce punches on the red dirt of Paris, reminding the world that the magic of men's singles tennis is alive and roller-coaster final is our Extraordinary Moment by @HaierOfficial #RolandGarros Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2025advertisementTwo years after Federer retired, a year after Nadal hung up his boots, and just days after Djokovic's final shot at clay-court glory slipped through his fingers, Alcaraz, 22, and Sinner, 23, summoned the ghosts of the golden era, the artistry, the fire, the unbreakable spirit, to signal the dawn of a new era forged from the echoes of any sport to thrive, the torch must be passed. Fresh faces, wunderkinds bursting with potential, are essential to writing the next chapter. But as the golden generation stretched its reign, so did a growing fear: who would carry that torch forward? The dominance of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic was so overwhelming that anyone even half as good risked being seen as a disappointment. Could the next anointed flagbearer create those moments of magic that tied billions to their TV sets and filled stadiums, year after year?advertisement The late 2010s were a nervous time for tennis's top brass. Federer's magic was fading; Nadal's fiery fight was nearing its twilight; and Djokovic, though still winning, was entering his 30s without his legendary rivals meeting him on the biggest stages as frequently as 2021, Djokovic delivered a cheeky yet pointed jab at the buzz around the Next Gen in men's singles tennis.'The Next Gen young people? Me, Rafa, and Roger are reinventing the Next Gen,' he said after capturing both the Australian and French Open titles that wasn't arrogance. It was a stark critique of the emerging stars who hadn't yet risen to the pressure of carrying the sport's momentum. Up until then, only Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka had broken through with multiple Grand Slam titles outside the Big Three since 2010. It wasn't until 2020 that Dominic Thiem became the first man born in the 1990s to claim a Slam, winning the US reality was, to say the least, unsettling. Even as whispers grew louder about a Spanish wunderkind doing extraordinary things with the calm assurance of a future great. Around the same time, the world's gaze shifted toward a lanky teenager from Italy who announced himself by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals at just 18, showcasing ice in his veins and fire in his WATERSHED SEASONThen came 2024, a watershed year. For the first time since 2003, not one member of the Big Three lifted a Grand Slam trophy. Alcaraz and Sinner had stepped into the spotlight, splitting all four majors between them and becoming the new faces of men's tennis. By year's end, Sinner was World No. 1. Alcaraz, No. and rankings alone do not forge legends. To truly declare themselves the heirs of greatness, they needed a night like Sunday in Paris, a clash drenched in sweat, spirit, and the electric charge of destiny. Just their first Grand Slam final meeting felt like a blaze that sparked a new THE BAR HIGH: SINNER AND ALCARAZ Their first Grand Slam final meeting was an all-time blockbuster (Reuters Photo) On Sunday night in Paris, time paused for five hours and 29 minutes—long enough for two young warriors to go toe-to-toe and ensure tennis will carry forward the spirit of the golden era, with battles fought like there's no started like a man in control of time itself—his strokes crisp, his decisions unhurried. The World No. 1 glided through the first two sets with the composure of someone who'd been here before, even though he hadn't. It was his first French Open final, and he had returned from a three-month doping ban only last month, playing just one tune-up event in the lead-up to Roland-Garros. At one point on Sunday, it appeared as if he would dethrone the new King of Clay without dropping a set in the entire corner he painted, every angle he found, drew gasps from the crowd that seemed too stunned to take clay has memory. And Alcaraz, raised on its grit and ghosts, began to rise. Slowly, then suddenly. He broke in the third, survived in the fourth, and by the time the fifth set arrived, he was at his YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS #RolandGarros Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2025The Spaniard's forehands began to spit fire, his drop shots drew Sinner into the dirt, and the match turned into a grind only the strongest could points grew longer. The shots sharper. The tension louder. At 5–4, with Alcaraz serving for it all, Sinner lunged for a drop shot like a man refusing to surrender his fate. He broke back. The battle twisted then, the tie-break. Alcaraz played it like a dream—his feet floating, his racquet dancing, and the ball the final point was won after five hours and 28 minutes, Alcaraz dropped to the clay—a champion twice over. There were no toilet breaks, no medical timeouts in this brutal marathon. At times, they even corrected calls that had gone in their the red dust of Chatrier, Alcaraz and Sinner gave us something we hadn't dared expect so soon: a match that belonged on the same shelves as the great ones. A night that made the future feel already golden.A new era has dawned. If this is how it begins, what follows will be lived and remembered forever by generations to come.

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