Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner Make History in French Open Final
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner Make History in French Open Final originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
No. 1 Jannik Skinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz played a French Open men's singles final for the ages on Sunday at Roland Garros.
Advertisement
Sinner appeared to be in full control after two sets. The Italian took a 2-0 lead into the third set, having won 31 consecutive sets in Grand Slam events, including every set he played in the French Open to that point.
Alcaraz was not fazed. The defending French Open champion extended the match by snapping Sinner's streak and winning the third set. He fought off three championship points in the fourth set, sending the match to a fifth set and an epic final into the Roland Garros history books.
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts to a point during his match against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy match on day 13 at Roland Garros Stadium.Susan Mullane-Imagn Images
During the decisive fifth set, the match became the longest men's singles final in French Open history, crossing the record of four hours and 42 minutes set in 1982 when Mats Wilander defeated Guillermo Vilas.
Advertisement
With a final match time of 5:29, Alcaraz vs. Sinner became the second-longest men's singles final at a Grand Slam, trailing only Novak Djokovic's win over Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open (5:53).
Remarkably, the 1982 final only took four sets to reach the record time, with Wilander winning 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–0, 6–4.
It took five sets and a tiebreak — for just the second time ever in a men's singles Grand Slam final in the Open Era — for Alcaraz to emerge with his second straight victory at Roland Garros. He won 4–6, 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(10–2).
Coming into the 2025 final, Sinner was 0-5 in his career in matches that lasted more than 3:50.
Advertisement
On the other hand, Alcaraz had a history of getting stronger in marathon matches. The Spaniard was previously 9-1 in matches of that length. However, he was previously 0-8 after losing the first two sets.
When Alcaraz defeated Alexander Zverev in the 2024 French Open men's singles final, their match nearly set the record with a match time of 4:12.
Related: Ben Shelton's Girlfriend Trinity Rodman Issues Strong Statement on Relationship Before French Open
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rory McIlroy shoots relatable score in Oakmont US Open practice round
The post Rory McIlroy shoots relatable score in Oakmont US Open practice round appeared first on ClutchPoints. The US Open is just days away, and Rory McIlroy is at Oakmont Country Club looking for his sixth major championship. He started this major season by winning The Masters and completing the career Grand Slam. But he has not played well since then, missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open just last week. In his Tuesday press conference, McIlroy admitted to a horrendous practice round score that may leave fans worried ahead of the year's third major. Advertisement 'They had the pins in dicey locations, and greens were running at 15½ (on the Stimpmeter). It was nearly impossible,' McIlroy said, per Paolo Uggetti of ESPN. 'I birdied the last two holes for 81. It felt pretty good. It didn't feel like I played that bad.' McIlroy said that this round came last week, before the Canadian Open. He proceeded to miss the cut in Toronto with a one-over-par 71 and an eight-over-par 78. In 2016, a much younger McIlroy missed the cut at the US Open at Oakmont, which was won by Dustin Johnson. The good news for McIlroy and his fans is that the greens were running faster that day than they will during the tournament. Golf Channel's Todd Lewis reported that the USGA wants to have the greens running between a 14.5 and a 15. But the biggest problem recently for McIlroy has been his driving. He knows how important his driver will be to competing in the US Open. If you miss a fairway here, you can't really do anything with it unless you're in the middle of a fairway bunker and you can get something over the lip.' Advertisement The US Open starts on Thursday, when McIlroy will tee off at 7:40 A.M. with his Ryder Cup teammates Shane Lowry and Justin Rose. If he wins, it would be his sixth major in an epic career. Related: Bryson DeChambeau praises Oakmont by smashing US Open course he won at Related: Rory McIlroy seeks rarified Ben Hogan air at US Open
NBC Sports
24 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Wimbledon announces record $73 million prize fund and $4 million for singles champions
LONDON — Wimbledon's prize money has risen to a record 53.5 million pounds (about $73 million) and the singles champions will each earn three million pounds ($4 million), All England Club officials announced on Thursday. The total amount is 3.5 million pounds ($6.8 million) more than last year, an increase of 7% — and exactly twice the pot handed out to competitors at the grass-court Grand Slam 10 years ago. 'We're immensely proud of the fact that if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year,' All England chair Deborah Jevans said. 'And we have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players.' The 2025 winners' checks represent an 11.1% jump on last year's prizes for the men's and women's singles champions and comes amid growing player demands for a bigger share of grand slam profits. Players who lose in the first round of singles will get 66,000 pounds, up 10% year on year. 'The focus on just the prize money at four events, the Grand Slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is for tennis,' Jevans added. 'The challenge with tennis is the fact that the players don't have an offseason which they want, they have increasing injuries that they're speaking about, and we've always said that we as Wimbledon are willing to engage and talk with the tours to try and find solutions, and that door remains open.' Wimbledon starts on June 30 and runs until July 13. For the first time in the oldest Grand Slam, line judges will be replaced with electronic line-calling.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Blackburn Rovers set to make at least 20 women's team staff members redundant
Blackburn Rovers Women staff will take part in a redundancy process that could impact at least 20 members of staff, while all senior players are set to be released at the end of June, according to people familiar with the process. The club announced in May that their senior women's team were to be demoted from Women's Super League 2 — they had finished 10th in English football's second tier, five points clear of relegation. The club's ownership, the V H Group, which took over in November 2010, decided against meeting the required licensing criteria to retain their second tier status. Advertisement On Thursday, senior women's staff members received an email informing them that a 'group consultation process' was set to begin regarding their employment with the club, according to sources who wished to remain anonymous to protect relationships. The proposed redundancies impact all staff within the women's football department, including pathway and operations staff and medical staff, as well as marketing and communications personnel. The number of redundancies is said to surpass 20, which would remove most of the contracted staff working within the club's women's football department. The email informing staff of the impending redundancy process was said to be the first form of communication from the club hierarchy since Blackburn's decision to demote the women's senior team. Many members of staff say they have resigned themselves to searching for jobs elsewhere. A source with knowledge of the situation indicated internal discussions with relevant club staff remain ongoing, and staff have been informed they will continue to be paid until the consultation process has been finalised. Players are also set to be released at the end of the month following the expiration of their contracts, according to those close to the decision. A number of players saw options in their contracts triggered last summer, thereby keeping them at average salaries of £9,000 ($12,152), despite an increase in training sessions from three evenings a week to four days. Players had previously been informed that the club was not in a position to offer them a contract beyond the 2024-25 season, and they have been told they will be paid up until the end of their contracts. What the structure of the women's team would look like following redundancies and player departures is very uncertain. Regulations for the women's pyramid state that any club that withdraws from a league can only re‑enter at least two tiers lower, where teams largely operate on a volunteer basis with no elite pathways. Advertisement Blackburn confirmed at the start of June they will play in the National League Division 1 North next season, the fourth tier of the women's football pyramid. According to FA NWL rules, each team must have at least 11 players registered 14 days before the start of the season. The 2025-26 season commences on September 6. A failure to do so will result in a £50 fine. According to people familiar with the decision, the ownership did not wish to commit more than £100,000 into their women's team's playing budget for the 2025-26 season, which would not meet the minimum threshold introduced by WSL Football. Blackburn did not comment on the figure to The Athletic when asked in May other than to say they spent around £500,000 on the women's team for the 2024-25 season.
