Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner: Five standout points from epic French Open final

Indian Express

3 hours ago

'Today there were few moments of the match that, I mean, the level was insane,' was Carlos Alcaraz's assessment as he basked in the glow of returning from a two-set deficit for the first time and defending his title against Jannik Sinner in Sunday's French Open final.
Sinner 1-0 sets lead, 6-6, 3-2* in tiebreaker (Match time: 2 hours, 6 minutes)
The Italian felt no pressure of blowing the previous lead, he raised his game in the shootout. The standout point came as he was dictating the terms from the baseline when both players powered the ball to each other before he scrambled Alcaraz's feet with an angled, disguised, pinpoint forehand winner down-the-line.
Sinner 2-0 sets lead, 1-2, *15-0 (Match time: 3 hours, 21 minutes)
Having given up an early break, this match showed no signs of turning, certainly not by the looks of how Sinner was commanding the baseline. He pulverised a few crosscourt backhands to set up a down-the-line ripper, Alcaraz got to everything and put him in a bit of trouble with his agility before Sinner rained down a smash.
2-2 sets equal, Alcaraz leading 2-1, *40-40 (Match time: 4 hours, 34 minutes)
Alcaraz returned to his strategy of mixing spins and depth to unsettle the Italian and followed it up with the finesse of drop shots, doing so with phenomenal guile. This was the third such instance in the same service game.
2-2 sets equal, Sinner leading 6-5, 40-AD* (Match time: 5 hours, 19 minutes)
If there was any chance of Alcaraz losing his composure after failing to serve out the match himself, he knocked it out with this gutsy point to take into the breaker. He responded to a couple of massive Sinner inside-out forehands, defending on his backhand, before hitting a sensational running backhand crosscourt passing shot. He cupped his ears, the crowd roared, the level was, indeed, insane.
2-2 sets equal, 6-6, Alcaraz leads tiebreaker 3-0* (Match time: 5 hours, 23 minutes)
The match tiebreaker is where Alcaraz definitively asserted his superiority, none more so than on this point. He returned Sinner's serve with gusto, followed it up with a delicate drop shot, and then, instead of letting the approach shot fall (it may have gone out) pulled off an inexplicable over-the-head, behind-the-shoulder forehand crosscourt volley on the run. Jaws dropped.