Superstar comes back from the dead to win greatest ever tennis match
Carlos Alcaraz has come back from the dead in one of the greatest of all grand slam finals, saving three match points in the fourth set before rallying to outlast Jannik Sinner and successfully defend his French Open crown.
After the longest and perhaps most epic of all Roland Garros showdowns — lasting five hours and 29 minutes — champion Alcaraz finally prevailed 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-2) against world No.1 Sinner to win his fifth grand slam in a true Sunday spectacular.
There seemed no way back for the 22-year-old Spaniard when he trailed 3-5, 0-40 in the fourth set with Sinner poised to win his third slam in a row after wins in the US Open and Australian Open.
But summoning up incredible resolve as well as extraordinary brilliance, Alcaraz, on his way to winning from two sets down for the first time in his stellar career, surged back to take the fourth set and then forge into a 5-3 lead in the decider.
But again, the match wasn't over as Sinner, defying his evident fatigue, broke back when Alcaraz served for the match at 5-4, dragging the incredible contest, full of amazing, lung-busting rallies, into a match tiebreak as it went into its sixth wondrous hour.
Again, Alcaraz raised his game to sublime levels, dominating the breaker and striking one last superlative forehand on the run — incredibly, his 70th winner of the match to Sinner's 53 — to seal the title.
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It was the perfect way to end a scintillating duel between the two young modern masters — the first time a grand slam final has been contested by two men born this century — as Alcaraz enjoyed a fifth successive win over the Italian to end Sinner's 20-match winning streak in the majors.
After receiving the trophy from 1999 champion Andre Agassi, Alcaraz paid tribute to his opponent who was returning to the grand slam arena after serving a three-month doping ban.
'Jannik, it's amazing the level you reach,' he told Sinner at the presentation.
'I am sure you will be champion many, many times and it is a privilege to share the court with you and making history with you.
'I'm just really happy to be able to make history with you in this tournament, in other tournaments. You are a huge inspiration for everyone and myself.'
This felt like indisputable evidence that the future of men's tennis belongs to the pair of them, as the two shooting stars have now won the last six grand slams between them.
It used to be the 'big four'; now it looks for all the world like a 'big two'.
John McEnroe made the 'semi-crazy' declaration that Sinner and Alcaraz had set a new standard beyond what even the best of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer could muster.
'Sinner and Alcaraz against Rafael Nadal on clay, you would make a serious argument that they would beat Nadal at his best,' he said.
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The incredible joust in a final had only ever been beaten in length by the five-hour, 53-minute epic between Djokovic and Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open.
In terms of quality, though, perhaps only the Federer-Nadal five-set classic at Wimbledon in 2008 could top this, even though these two youngsters were taking the power and speed levels to freakish new peaks.
Greg Rusedski, the former US Open finalist, and two-time French Open winner Sergi Bruguera, both hailed it the best match they'd ever seen, while John McEnroe felt the level they were playing at now was the highest he'd ever seen.
Federer wrote: 'Three winners in Paris today: Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and the beautiful game of tennis. What a match!'
But Sinner was crestfallen.
'It is easier to play than to talk right now ... I won't sleep tonight very well, but it's OK,' he said on court.
'We tried our best today. We gave everything we had.
'I was a break up in the third, a break up in the fourth, had three match points, serving for the match.
'I came back. Six-five up in the fifth ... so many chances I couldn't use.'
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As for Alcaraz, he was just proud how he had fought when on the back foot for so much of the match.
'To say it was one of the greatest matches in the history of grand slams, is really high status,' he said amid the widespread praise.
'I have to say there's been better finals — Rafa-Djokovic (2012) is pretty high — but I'm really happy to put my name to one of the best finals in the history of grand slams here. Really proud.'
He thought of his grandfather watching back in Spain.
'I hope he's proud with what I did today with the three Cs,' smiled Alcaraz.
That is cabeza, corazon and cojones — head, heart and balls.
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West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
GEORGIE PARKER: Men should play three sets at tennis majors like women after French Open female fixture snub
The French Open finals were both epic encounters, but there's something about the way the tournament is run that leaves a bitter taste. Coco Gauff won in three sets against world number one Aryna Sabalenka to claim her first French Open title, and Carlos Alcaraz triumphed in an absolute thriller — lifting the trophy after a five-and-a-half-hour marathon against Jannik Sinner overnight. I love a lot of things about tennis — it's one of my favourite sports to watch. One thing I really appreciate, which is rare in other sports, is the personalities of the players that shine through in their press conferences. They play and speak for themselves — not through a team's PR or brand — so they often say exactly what's on their mind. During the French Open, two things stood out to me from the press conferences. Australia's top male hope, Alex de Minaur, who has been battling injuries on and off, suffered a shock second-round exit. He complained, 'there's just too much tennis,' saying the season is too long and that 'the solution is you shorten it … because careers are going to get shorter and shorter — they're just going to burn out mentally.' In the women's draw, Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, and Ons Jabeur all made comments about the visibility of women's tennis at the tournament, with no women's matches played in the prime-time evening slot — reportedly because they only play three sets, not five. That's not really a sound argument, as the Australian and US Opens alternate night matches between the sexes. Pegula said it made her feel like 'hitting her head against the wall.' Sabalenka played Olympic champion and world number eight Zheng Qinwen at 11 a.m.—a quarterfinal match that should have been a lock for prime-time action. In some ways, tennis is far ahead of many sports, with equal pay at Grand Slams. But in other ways, it throws women under the bus, and there's still deeply rooted sexism in the sport. In 2020, for example, the women's Italian Open champion received just €10 less than the men's champion — an amount so small it could only be interpreted as a deliberate statement that women shouldn't be equal. They won't allow women to play five sets (even though the WTA has repeatedly expressed interest) due to 'logistical challenges' with broadcasting and scheduling. Yet, because women aren't allowed to play five sets, they're denied prime-time slots—and the shorter matches fuel the 'you're not doing equal work for equal pay' criticism that women endure online every major tournament. It's infuriating. So, from these press conferences, I'm hearing two problems: the men are playing too much tennis (though de Minaur was more focused on the length of the season than match format), and the women want to be seen as equal. So here's a left-field solution: bring the men back to three sets at majors so everyone is on the same page? Grand Slams would be easier for men to handle workload-wise, as best-of-five is extremely taxing, and there would be no excuse for tournament directors not to give women prime-time slots. Now, if I'm being honest, I don't really want this. I love the five-set thrillers — staying up watching Lleyton Hewitt until 4:30 a.m. against Marcos Baghdatis in the 2008 Australian Open is one of my favourite sporting memories. But what I do want is a solution for the women. It's not fair to hold something over them that directly impacts their visibility and growth, while not only denying them the opportunity to change it but actively blocking any change that could help. Jabeur said it perfectly: 'Honouring one side of the sport shouldn't mean ignoring the other.' Something has to give — because it's 2025, and these women deserve better.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Insanity! Was this the greatest tennis match of all?
Alex de Minaur called it "insanity", Andre Agassi shook his head in disbelief from the VIP seats and Mats Wilander felt they were playing at a "not human" level. Other luminaries simply swooned it was the best tennis match they'd ever seen. Indeed, Carlos Alcaraz's 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-2) triumph over Jannik Sinner in the longest and perhaps best of all French Open finals was so astonishing that even the Spanish champ himself was asked where it belonged in the list of the greatest contests the sport had ever witnessed. Modestly suggesting it wasn't as good as the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal Australian Open epic in 2012 - which at five hours 53 minutes was the only final to last longer than Sunday's 5:29 marathon - Alcaraz, who saved three match points before prevailing, said he was just proud it was being mentioned as one of the finest of all. "I don't know if our match is in the same table as them," he said when asked how it compared with Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer's final of 2008 and the Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe 1980 epics, both at Wimbledon. "But just happy to put our match and our names in the history of the grand slams, in the history of Roland Garros. I leave the discussion to the people..." Well, the tennis people were awed. "The level of this whole match was insanity!!!!! What a day to be a fan of this beautiful sport," enthused Australia's main man de Minaur on X as he reflected on a contest between the two men he's played a combined 14 times and not yet managed a win. This was a day to see why. Four-time grand slam champ Jim Courier, commentating on TNT Sport, echoed 'Demon's' incredulity as he said: "It's insane how good this is. Everybody's in disbelief at what they're seeing." "One of the best 5th sets ever alongside Federer vs Nadal '08 Wimbledon + Djok vs Nadal AO 2012," tweeted former US Open champ Marin Cilic. "Unbelievable level." Sergi Bruguera, Spain's two-time French Open champ, told Alcaraz it had been the best match he'd ever witnessed, a view echoed by Greg Rusedski, Britain's former US Open finalist, who declared on BBC radio: "For me, personally, this goes down as the greatest tennis match I've ever seen. "The standard was just exceptional. It's just incredible how hard these guys hit the ball." So incredible indeed that seven-time grand slam single champ John McEnroe, talking on TNT Sport, wondered if the pair might even have eclipsed the king of clay, 14-time Roland Garros champ Rafa Nadal, here. "It was an honour to witness. I've been doing this 30 years, that's one of the all-timers easily," said McEnroe. "You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best. "Do I think they're gonna reach 20, 24 (titles), either one of them? No, because that plateau is so hard - but these two guys right now, it's like when you watch the NBA and you say nobody could be better than Michael Jordan. The tennis level right now is higher than I've ever seen." Three-time Australian Open champ Wilander was left marvelling: "I cannot believe how lucky we are that we are going to have this rivalry as they have taken our sport to another level. "I've seen Federer and Nadal, they played a couple of good finals but nothing comes close to this one to me. "Because the anticipation was so high, especially from my side because I witnessed their matches and I always think that this is not possible, they are playing at a pace that is not human." Alex de Minaur called it "insanity", Andre Agassi shook his head in disbelief from the VIP seats and Mats Wilander felt they were playing at a "not human" level. Other luminaries simply swooned it was the best tennis match they'd ever seen. Indeed, Carlos Alcaraz's 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-2) triumph over Jannik Sinner in the longest and perhaps best of all French Open finals was so astonishing that even the Spanish champ himself was asked where it belonged in the list of the greatest contests the sport had ever witnessed. Modestly suggesting it wasn't as good as the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal Australian Open epic in 2012 - which at five hours 53 minutes was the only final to last longer than Sunday's 5:29 marathon - Alcaraz, who saved three match points before prevailing, said he was just proud it was being mentioned as one of the finest of all. "I don't know if our match is in the same table as them," he said when asked how it compared with Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer's final of 2008 and the Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe 1980 epics, both at Wimbledon. "But just happy to put our match and our names in the history of the grand slams, in the history of Roland Garros. I leave the discussion to the people..." Well, the tennis people were awed. "The level of this whole match was insanity!!!!! What a day to be a fan of this beautiful sport," enthused Australia's main man de Minaur on X as he reflected on a contest between the two men he's played a combined 14 times and not yet managed a win. This was a day to see why. Four-time grand slam champ Jim Courier, commentating on TNT Sport, echoed 'Demon's' incredulity as he said: "It's insane how good this is. Everybody's in disbelief at what they're seeing." "One of the best 5th sets ever alongside Federer vs Nadal '08 Wimbledon + Djok vs Nadal AO 2012," tweeted former US Open champ Marin Cilic. "Unbelievable level." Sergi Bruguera, Spain's two-time French Open champ, told Alcaraz it had been the best match he'd ever witnessed, a view echoed by Greg Rusedski, Britain's former US Open finalist, who declared on BBC radio: "For me, personally, this goes down as the greatest tennis match I've ever seen. "The standard was just exceptional. It's just incredible how hard these guys hit the ball." So incredible indeed that seven-time grand slam single champ John McEnroe, talking on TNT Sport, wondered if the pair might even have eclipsed the king of clay, 14-time Roland Garros champ Rafa Nadal, here. "It was an honour to witness. I've been doing this 30 years, that's one of the all-timers easily," said McEnroe. "You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best. "Do I think they're gonna reach 20, 24 (titles), either one of them? No, because that plateau is so hard - but these two guys right now, it's like when you watch the NBA and you say nobody could be better than Michael Jordan. The tennis level right now is higher than I've ever seen." Three-time Australian Open champ Wilander was left marvelling: "I cannot believe how lucky we are that we are going to have this rivalry as they have taken our sport to another level. "I've seen Federer and Nadal, they played a couple of good finals but nothing comes close to this one to me. "Because the anticipation was so high, especially from my side because I witnessed their matches and I always think that this is not possible, they are playing at a pace that is not human." Alex de Minaur called it "insanity", Andre Agassi shook his head in disbelief from the VIP seats and Mats Wilander felt they were playing at a "not human" level. Other luminaries simply swooned it was the best tennis match they'd ever seen. Indeed, Carlos Alcaraz's 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-2) triumph over Jannik Sinner in the longest and perhaps best of all French Open finals was so astonishing that even the Spanish champ himself was asked where it belonged in the list of the greatest contests the sport had ever witnessed. Modestly suggesting it wasn't as good as the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal Australian Open epic in 2012 - which at five hours 53 minutes was the only final to last longer than Sunday's 5:29 marathon - Alcaraz, who saved three match points before prevailing, said he was just proud it was being mentioned as one of the finest of all. "I don't know if our match is in the same table as them," he said when asked how it compared with Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer's final of 2008 and the Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe 1980 epics, both at Wimbledon. "But just happy to put our match and our names in the history of the grand slams, in the history of Roland Garros. I leave the discussion to the people..." Well, the tennis people were awed. "The level of this whole match was insanity!!!!! What a day to be a fan of this beautiful sport," enthused Australia's main man de Minaur on X as he reflected on a contest between the two men he's played a combined 14 times and not yet managed a win. This was a day to see why. Four-time grand slam champ Jim Courier, commentating on TNT Sport, echoed 'Demon's' incredulity as he said: "It's insane how good this is. Everybody's in disbelief at what they're seeing." "One of the best 5th sets ever alongside Federer vs Nadal '08 Wimbledon + Djok vs Nadal AO 2012," tweeted former US Open champ Marin Cilic. "Unbelievable level." Sergi Bruguera, Spain's two-time French Open champ, told Alcaraz it had been the best match he'd ever witnessed, a view echoed by Greg Rusedski, Britain's former US Open finalist, who declared on BBC radio: "For me, personally, this goes down as the greatest tennis match I've ever seen. "The standard was just exceptional. It's just incredible how hard these guys hit the ball." So incredible indeed that seven-time grand slam single champ John McEnroe, talking on TNT Sport, wondered if the pair might even have eclipsed the king of clay, 14-time Roland Garros champ Rafa Nadal, here. "It was an honour to witness. I've been doing this 30 years, that's one of the all-timers easily," said McEnroe. "You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best. "Do I think they're gonna reach 20, 24 (titles), either one of them? No, because that plateau is so hard - but these two guys right now, it's like when you watch the NBA and you say nobody could be better than Michael Jordan. The tennis level right now is higher than I've ever seen." Three-time Australian Open champ Wilander was left marvelling: "I cannot believe how lucky we are that we are going to have this rivalry as they have taken our sport to another level. "I've seen Federer and Nadal, they played a couple of good finals but nothing comes close to this one to me. "Because the anticipation was so high, especially from my side because I witnessed their matches and I always think that this is not possible, they are playing at a pace that is not human." Alex de Minaur called it "insanity", Andre Agassi shook his head in disbelief from the VIP seats and Mats Wilander felt they were playing at a "not human" level. Other luminaries simply swooned it was the best tennis match they'd ever seen. Indeed, Carlos Alcaraz's 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-2) triumph over Jannik Sinner in the longest and perhaps best of all French Open finals was so astonishing that even the Spanish champ himself was asked where it belonged in the list of the greatest contests the sport had ever witnessed. Modestly suggesting it wasn't as good as the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal Australian Open epic in 2012 - which at five hours 53 minutes was the only final to last longer than Sunday's 5:29 marathon - Alcaraz, who saved three match points before prevailing, said he was just proud it was being mentioned as one of the finest of all. "I don't know if our match is in the same table as them," he said when asked how it compared with Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer's final of 2008 and the Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe 1980 epics, both at Wimbledon. "But just happy to put our match and our names in the history of the grand slams, in the history of Roland Garros. I leave the discussion to the people..." Well, the tennis people were awed. "The level of this whole match was insanity!!!!! What a day to be a fan of this beautiful sport," enthused Australia's main man de Minaur on X as he reflected on a contest between the two men he's played a combined 14 times and not yet managed a win. This was a day to see why. Four-time grand slam champ Jim Courier, commentating on TNT Sport, echoed 'Demon's' incredulity as he said: "It's insane how good this is. Everybody's in disbelief at what they're seeing." "One of the best 5th sets ever alongside Federer vs Nadal '08 Wimbledon + Djok vs Nadal AO 2012," tweeted former US Open champ Marin Cilic. "Unbelievable level." Sergi Bruguera, Spain's two-time French Open champ, told Alcaraz it had been the best match he'd ever witnessed, a view echoed by Greg Rusedski, Britain's former US Open finalist, who declared on BBC radio: "For me, personally, this goes down as the greatest tennis match I've ever seen. "The standard was just exceptional. It's just incredible how hard these guys hit the ball." So incredible indeed that seven-time grand slam single champ John McEnroe, talking on TNT Sport, wondered if the pair might even have eclipsed the king of clay, 14-time Roland Garros champ Rafa Nadal, here. "It was an honour to witness. I've been doing this 30 years, that's one of the all-timers easily," said McEnroe. "You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best. "Do I think they're gonna reach 20, 24 (titles), either one of them? No, because that plateau is so hard - but these two guys right now, it's like when you watch the NBA and you say nobody could be better than Michael Jordan. The tennis level right now is higher than I've ever seen." Three-time Australian Open champ Wilander was left marvelling: "I cannot believe how lucky we are that we are going to have this rivalry as they have taken our sport to another level. "I've seen Federer and Nadal, they played a couple of good finals but nothing comes close to this one to me. "Because the anticipation was so high, especially from my side because I witnessed their matches and I always think that this is not possible, they are playing at a pace that is not human."
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Sensational six for LIV Golf's hot Chilean
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"I felt like there was a lot going on during the rain delay," Niemann said. "Tried to keep my mind on the right thoughts, and having Bryson (DeChambeau) coming off pretty clutch at the end, Phil (Mickelson) as well, Anirban... "It could have been for anybody, and I felt like I was all day just behind, especially since the beginning of the week, and I feel like the only word that I was telling myself from last night was just have faith. There's nothing else I can do, have a good attitude, and just wait." The win propels him into next week's US Open, where he is in the field on an exemption reserved for one of the top players in the league. "I feel like I'm still pretty far away of winning (a major)," Niemann added. "I'm just happy to be playing at the US Open. It's going to be a great course, pretty tough conditions. I'm just looking forward for that challenge and have a fun week." After a two-putt birdie at the par-5 14th hole, Niemann sank a nine-footer at the 15th and a 10-footer at the par-3 16th. He reached 15 under par when he stuck his second shot at No.17 to about a foot from the pin to set up a tap-in birdie. DeChambeau and Mickelson each shot six-under 65s to get into a tie for fourth at 13 under with Belgium's Thomas Pieters (63) and Bubba Watson (67). Marc Leishman (66) was the leading Australian at nine under and in joint 10th, with Cameron Smith (68) five under, Lucas Herbert (68) three over and Matt Jones (70) seven over. In the team standings, the DeChambeau-captained Crushers GC went 15 under for the day to finish 36 under par and secure the team title by two strokes over 4Aces GC. It is Crushers' second straight team victory following the last event in South Korea. Joaquin Niemann has birdied the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes to cap off a bogey-free, eight-under-par 63 for his final round and hang on to win LIV Golf Virginia in Gainesville. The 26-year-old Chilean went 15-under 198 for the week at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club and beat Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell (66) and Anirban Lahiri of India (68) by a single stroke. Lahiri had a birdie attempt at his final hole on Sunday to force a playoff with Niemann but could not convert. Niemann's sixth LIV win - all coming in a 17-month span - broke a tie with Brooks Koepka for the most victories in the Saudi-backed league's brief history. He had to endure a rain delay and fend off a crowded field of players to finish the job. "I felt like there was a lot going on during the rain delay," Niemann said. "Tried to keep my mind on the right thoughts, and having Bryson (DeChambeau) coming off pretty clutch at the end, Phil (Mickelson) as well, Anirban... "It could have been for anybody, and I felt like I was all day just behind, especially since the beginning of the week, and I feel like the only word that I was telling myself from last night was just have faith. There's nothing else I can do, have a good attitude, and just wait." The win propels him into next week's US Open, where he is in the field on an exemption reserved for one of the top players in the league. "I feel like I'm still pretty far away of winning (a major)," Niemann added. "I'm just happy to be playing at the US Open. It's going to be a great course, pretty tough conditions. I'm just looking forward for that challenge and have a fun week." After a two-putt birdie at the par-5 14th hole, Niemann sank a nine-footer at the 15th and a 10-footer at the par-3 16th. He reached 15 under par when he stuck his second shot at No.17 to about a foot from the pin to set up a tap-in birdie. DeChambeau and Mickelson each shot six-under 65s to get into a tie for fourth at 13 under with Belgium's Thomas Pieters (63) and Bubba Watson (67). Marc Leishman (66) was the leading Australian at nine under and in joint 10th, with Cameron Smith (68) five under, Lucas Herbert (68) three over and Matt Jones (70) seven over. In the team standings, the DeChambeau-captained Crushers GC went 15 under for the day to finish 36 under par and secure the team title by two strokes over 4Aces GC. It is Crushers' second straight team victory following the last event in South Korea.
