Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's epic French Open final shows that future looks bright for tennis

The National

7 hours ago

An unforgettable French Open has come to an end with Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff crowned champions on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The No 2 seeds came out on top in tough battles against the tournament top seeds.
Here are some of the main takeaways from the two weeks gone by at Roland Garros.
Alcaraz v Sinner a classic for the ages
At a tournament where Rafael Nadal was given an emotional farewell ceremony and where Novak Djokovic admitted he may have played his last ever match on Parisian clay, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner gave tennis fans the greatest gift: a five-and-a-half-hour classic that solidified the belief that the future of the sport is secure, even in the absence of its greatest legends.
In their 12th meeting, and first in a Grand Slam final, Alcaraz saved three championship points and came back from two-sets-to-love down for the first time in his career to defeat Jannik Sinner in five jaw-dropping sets and successfully defend his Roland Garros crown.
The thought on everyone's mind at the conclusion of that epic? 'How lucky are we that we get at least 10 more years of this tennis rivalry?'
Alcaraz and Sinner have split the last six majors and have combined to win eight of the last nine.
If people were concerned about what tennis would look like in a post-Big Three era, Alcaraz and Sinner have surely eased those worries.
Their rivalry has all the necessary elements to make for compelling viewing.
One is a showman and outwardly emotional; the other is composed and often reserved. One relies on powerful, inch-perfect missiles unleashed from the baseline; the other combines his explosivity with delicate drop shots and lots of variety.
Their rivalry is fierce but has an added layer stemming from the fact that Sinner and Alcaraz seem to genuinely like each other.
Their battles typically feature dizzyingly high levels of tennis, but it is the mental side of their showdowns that truly draws you in, with Alcaraz recently coming out on top in that department, having won his last five clashes with Sinner.
During Sunday's Roland Garros final, Sinner was unplayable for large stretches of the match but Alcaraz never stopped fighting, even when he was down two sets and a break, and even when he stared down three consecutive match points.
'Today was all about believing in myself. I never doubted myself and I tried to go for it. That's why I saw my best tennis in crucial moments,' said Alcaraz after the final.
In a bizarre coincidence, Alcaraz captured his fifth Grand Slam title at the exact same age as Nadal was when he won his fifth major – 22 years, one month and three days. 'I'm going to say that's the destiny,' said Alcaraz.
Meanwhile, Sinner may have suffered a heartbreaking defeat but he also realises he reached the finals of Rome and the French Open in his first two tournaments back from a three-month suspension.
The quality of tennis he produced in Paris was hard to believe at times. 'Unreal' was the term Alcaraz used. The Italian will be even more devastating on grass and hard courts.
Wimbledon can't come soon enough!
Gauff shows resilience to claim second major
Not many would have tipped Coco Gauff to beat Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open final on Saturday but the American certainly backed herself, and had the ultimate belief that she could best the world No 1.
The night before the final, Gauff took a notepad from her hotel and wrote down 'I will be the 2025 French Open champion!' repeatedly on a piece of paper, until she ran out of space.
It was a move inspired by track sprinter Gabby Thomas, who has said that writing down her own affirmations helped manifest her Olympic gold in the 200m event last summer in Paris.
Gauff entered Saturday's showdown tied at 5-5 in previous meetings with Sabalenka and having already defeated the Belarusian in a major final at the US Open two years ago.
In that decider in New York, Gauff rallied back from a set down to overcome Sabalenka and the 21-year-old American did the same thing in Paris.
In difficult, windy conditions, Gauff played the long game and won.
The world No 2 dropped a gruelling 80-minute opening set to Sabalenka before she turned the tide and grabbed the next two.
As Sabalenka unravelled, unable to handle the conditions, Gauff kept her cool and kept things simple. She relied on her incredible athleticism, tried to avoid errors and refused to be frustrated by the wind.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka may have been the higher-ranked and more experienced player on the court that day but Gauff's maturity and perseverance is what ultimately mattered the most.
Everyone from Barack and Michelle Obama to LeBron James took to social media to congratulate Gauff on winning her second Grand Slam and she's already back in the United States doing the talk show rounds.
At a time where some people have questioned the existence of star power in today's women's game, Gauff has sent out a clear statement.
On her part, Sabalenka has already backtracked on some of the statements she made during her press conference, where she blamed her own poor performance for her loss, rather than give any credit to Gauff.
The 70 unforced errors Sabalenka hit in the final certainly played a huge part but Gauff's composure and resilience should not be underestimated.
Three-time major champion Sabalenka is over 3,400 points clear of Gauff at the top of the rankings and heads to Wimbledon as a favourite, despite her defeat in Paris.
Don't write off Djokovic just yet
Djokovic admitted to reporters that he may have played for the very last time at Roland Garros after he lost to Sinner in straight sets in the semi-finals but the Serb was reportedly more defiant during the Serbian portion of his press conference.
At 38, Djokovic gathered some momentum by winning the title in Geneva on the eve of the French Open – the 100th trophy of his career – before he stormed to the final four with an impressive victory over world No 3 Alexander Zverev.
The Serb is non-committal about his upcoming schedule but assured he will be at Wimbledon and the US Open.
As a seven-time champion at the All England Club, Djokovic will no doubt fancy himself a deep run next month, given how well he played in Paris.
The 24-time major winner may not be considered a favourite against Sinner or Alcaraz in their current form but we can't forget that he defeated the Spaniard to win Olympic gold less than a year ago, after the Spaniard had just swept both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
If he's fit and motivated, write off Djokovic at your own peril.
Swiatek digs deep
The downside – if you can call it that – of dominating for a long period is that you hold yourself to incredibly high standards, and so do the public.
Swiatek entered Roland Garros swarming with doubts after a sub-par clay-court campaign but squashed some of those doubts with a strong run to the semi-finals, where she knocked out Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina before falling to Sabalenka in three sets.
The former world No 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion is down to No 7 in the rankings and will find herself in unfamiliar territory in the upcoming period.
That could perhaps be just what she needs in order to rekindle her inner fire. We saw glimpses of that in Paris and will no doubt see more of it moving forward.