Alcaraz hails ‘real champion' mindset after epic French Open win over Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz said 'real champions' are made in tough situations after the Spaniard saved three championship points and fought from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in the French Open final on Sunday.
Reigning champion Alcaraz looked set to relinquish his Roland Garros title when he fell 5-3 behind in the fourth set, but the 22-year-old instead pulled off one of the greatest escape acts in grand slam history.
Alcaraz held off three match points from 0-40 on his serve to outlast world No 1 Sinner in a thriller, winning 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 after five hours and 29 minutes.
'When the situations are against you, you have to fight, keep fighting,' said Alcaraz, who had never before won a match from a two-set deficit. 'I mean, it is a grand slam final.
'It's no time to be tired. It's no time to give up. It's time to keep fighting, trying to find your moment, your good place again, and just go for it.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after winning the French Open final. Photo: Xinhua
'I think the real champions are made in those situations when you deal with that pressure. I mean, that's what the real champions have done in their whole careers.'
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South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Alcaraz hails ‘real champion' mindset after epic French Open win over Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz said 'real champions' are made in tough situations after the Spaniard saved three championship points and fought from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in the French Open final on Sunday. Reigning champion Alcaraz looked set to relinquish his Roland Garros title when he fell 5-3 behind in the fourth set, but the 22-year-old instead pulled off one of the greatest escape acts in grand slam history. Alcaraz held off three match points from 0-40 on his serve to outlast world No 1 Sinner in a thriller, winning 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 after five hours and 29 minutes. 'When the situations are against you, you have to fight, keep fighting,' said Alcaraz, who had never before won a match from a two-set deficit. 'I mean, it is a grand slam final. 'It's no time to be tired. It's no time to give up. It's time to keep fighting, trying to find your moment, your good place again, and just go for it. Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after winning the French Open final. Photo: Xinhua 'I think the real champions are made in those situations when you deal with that pressure. I mean, that's what the real champions have done in their whole careers.'
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
Alcaraz outlasts Sinner to win French Open classic
Alcaraz outlasts Sinner to win French Open classic Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory against Italy's Jannik Sinner. Photo: AFP Carlos Alcaraz saved three championship points as he produced an astonishing fightback from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in a French Open final for the ages on Sunday. Reigning champion Alcaraz rallied from the brink of defeat to overcome world number one Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (10/2) to clinch his fifth Grand Slam title after five hours and 29 minutes. The 22-year-old Spaniard is now unbeaten in five Grand Slam finals after snapping Sinner's 20-match winning run at the majors. "I'm pretty sure you'll be champion not once, but many many times. It's a privilege to share the court with you in every tournament. Making history with you," Alcaraz said, addressing Sinner after the final. Alcaraz pulled off his first ever comeback from two sets down to stun Sinner in the longest Roland Garros final in history. It easily eclipsed the 1982 final in Paris when Mats Wilander triumphed in four sets over Guillermo Vilas in 4hr 42min. Alcaraz becomes the third youngest man to win five Grand Slams -- after Bjorn Borg and compatriot Rafael Nadal -- following an incredible duel between the two stars of a new generation. Sinner fell agonisingly short of a third successive Grand Slam crown after last year's US Open title and back-to-back Australian Open triumphs. "It's easier to play than talking now," said a devastated Sinner. "We tried our best today, we gave everything we had. "I won't sleep very well tonight but it's OK." He suffered his fifth straight loss to Alcaraz in what was their first meeting in a Grand Slam final -- and the first championship match at a major between two men born in the 2000s. Alcaraz leads 8-5 overall having also beaten Sinner to win in Rome, where the Italian returned to competition in May after a three-month doping ban. Alcaraz put the pressure on Sinner by carving out three break points to start Saturday's final, but the Italian resisted and soon had a chance of his own. He couldn't take advantage and found himself having to fend off two more break points at 1-1, producing clutch serves to grind out another tough hold. Alcaraz's persistence paid off in the fifth game when he broke to nudge 3-2 ahead, only for the Spaniard to immediately hand the lead back. The unshakeable Sinner threatened to break again at 4-3, with a brief lapse from Alcaraz eventually enabling Sinner to snatch the first set. Sinner hit the accelerator to start the second set, surging 3-0 in front. After facing seven break points in the opener, he tightened up considerably on serve. But Alcaraz brought up his first break point of the second set with Sinner serving for a two-set lead, duly pouncing on the opportunity to check his rival's momentum. With the swagger back in his step at a crucial juncture, Alcaraz sought to bring the crowd into the contest but Sinner remained unflustered in the tie-break. The first five points went with serve before Sinner whipped a forehand down the line and Alcaraz then steered an attempted drop-shot wide. A tame return into the net presented Sinner with four set points. Alcaraz saved two before Sinner unleashed a blistering cross-court forehand to move to within a set of the trophy. It all looked to be going his way when he broke Alcaraz to begin the third set, but the Spaniard refused to surrender his title quietly and rattled off four games on the bounce to lead 4-1. Alcaraz lost serve at 5-3 but promptly broke to love to force a fourth set, lapping up the roars of the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd. That ended Sinner's run of 31 consecutive sets won at Grand Slams. Alcaraz saved a break point in the third game amid a series of holds as Sinner doubled down. The Italian appeared to be closing in on victory when he broke at 3-3 as the finish line neared. But Alcaraz had other ideas as he staved off three championship points at 3-5 and then broke Sinner when he tried to seal the title on his serve. Successive aces spurred a reinvigorated Alcaraz on in the tie-break and into a decisive fifth set. A despairing Sinner lost his serve right away and his gloom deepened as Alcaraz saved two break points to pull 3-1 ahead, but incredibly there was another twist. Alcaraz this time faltered with the title within his grasp as Sinner broke at 3-5 to spark a three-game burst that left the Spaniard needing to hold serve to prolong the final. He kept his nerve to set up a 10-point tie-break, which Alcaraz ran away with as the outrageous shotmaking continued until the very end when he took his first championship point with a sizzling forehand down the line. (AFP)
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Coco Gauff admits French Open final win over Aryna Sabalenka ‘wasn't pretty'
'I was, like, 'this is going to be a tough day', and I knew it was just going to be about willpower and mental. 'It was super tough when I walked on the court and felt the wind because we warmed up with the roof closed,' she said. It was Gauff who coped better with the conditions to add the Roland Garros title to her 2023 US Open crown, also against the Belarusian. A stiff breeze swirled around Court Philippe-Chatrier and contributed to a combined total of 100 unforced errors and 15 breaks of serve. The 21-year-old American, seeded second, came from a set down to beat world No 1 Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4. Coco Gauff said her first French Open title win 'wasn't pretty' after she battled Aryna Sabalenka and the elements to reign on the Paris clay. 'It really came down to the last few points, but overall I'm just really happy with the fight that I managed today. 'It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done, and that's all that matters.' It was the first time the top two women's seeds had contested a Roland Garros final since Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova in 2013. Sabalenka edged a tiebreak to win the opening set, which at 77 minutes lasted nine minutes longer than the entire match the last time Gauff was in the Roland Garros final, a chastening 6-1, 6-3 defeat by Iga Swiatek three years ago. Coco Gauff celebrates with US director Spike Lee after her win. Photo: AFP But Gauff won back the final two sets, and victory over the 27-year-old Belarusian put to rest the bad memories of that 2022 loss, when, as an 18-year-old, Gauff felt overwhelmed even before stepping onto Court Philippe-Chatrier. 'It was a tough time, I was doubting myself,' Gauff recalled. 'I was crying before the match, and so nervous, literally couldn't breathe and stuff.' Gauff said the lopsided loss rocked her confidence to such an extent that she was left 'in a dark place' and feared she was not cut out for winning major titles. 'I thought, if I can't handle this how am I going to handle it again?' she said. She handled it just fine on Saturday and after the match said: 'I think [the US Open victory] was more emotional but this one was harder.' After she had won, Gauff greeted Sabalenka at the net with a warm hug and thanked the umpire, then screamed out with joy and relief, got to her knees and crouched forward, continuing to cry as she savoured the win. She later hugged film director Spike Lee and celebrated with her entourage in her box before thanking the fans. Aryna Sabalenka was an uncharacteristically ungracious loser. Photo: Xinhua 'You guys were cheering for me so hard,' she said. 'I don't know what I did to deserve so much love from the French crowd.' Sabalenka, a vivacious presence throughout the fortnight both in person and via her social media output, was an uncharacteristically ungracious loser. 'I mean, honestly, sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball from the frame,' she said. magically, the ball lands in the court, and you're kind of on the back foot. 'It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was just standing there laughing, like, 'let's see if you can handle this'. 'I was just making unforced errors. I think she won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes, kind of like from easy balls.' Advertisement
