After a flawless fortnight in Paris, Sinner's eye-catching run at French Open ends in heartbreak
PARIS (AP) — After a flawless fortnight in Paris, Jannik Sinner was on the brink of capturing his first French Open title on Sunday after a dominant run on the clay courts of Roland-Garros.
Facing defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, the top-ranked Italian was firmly in control.
Sinner's deep groundstrokes, excellent service, heavy top spin, and subtle variations had worn down Alcaraz, who found himself 5-3 down and trailing 0-40 in the fourth set, and facing three match points.
At that moment, it felt like the best of all possible worlds for the 23-year-old Sinner.
But then the momentum swung. Alcaraz fought back, saved the first match point when Sinner sent a forehand long. On the second, Sinner missed a return. The third ended with Alcaraz winning a short baseline exchange.
Sinner had just let his chance slip away.
From there, Alcaraz produced one of the greatest comeback in Roland-Garros history to win the longest final ever played on the Parisian dirt — 5 hours and 29 minutes — 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2).
'It's an amazing trophy, so I won't sleep tonight very well, but it's okay,' Sinner said during the trophy ceremony.
Exciting rivalry
There is hardly anything between the two best players in tennis at the moment, who have now combined to win the last six Grand Slam titles and appear poised to build one of the sport's most compelling rivalries in the years ahead.
Sunday's duel delivered a match of rare intensity, filled with punishing baseline rallies, exquisite drop shots, and brilliant passing shots — thrilling a packed Court Philippe-Chatrier.
'This one hurts'
'Obviously, this one hurts,' he said. 'There's not so much to say right now. But again, I'm happy with how we're trying to improve every day and put myself in these kinds of positions. It was a very high-level match, that's for sure. I'm happy to be part of it. But yeah, the final result hurts.'
It was a particularly tough ending for Sinner, who had not dropped a set on his way to the final, including a dominant semifinal win over three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic.
Before facing Alcaraz, Sinner had never lost a Grand Slam final, winning his first three. A victory would have made him just the fifth man in the Open Era to win three consecutive major titles.
'I'm pretty sure you are going to be a champion, not once but many, many times,' Alcaraz told him during the trophy ceremony. 'It is a privilege to share the court with you in every tournament, making history with you.'
'Now it's my time to take something from the close people I have,' he said. 'As I've always said, before my career started, I never would've imagined finding myself in this position. It wasn't even a dream because it felt so far away — I wasn't even thinking about it. Now I find myself here, playing the longest final in the history of Roland-Garros. It hurts, yes, but on the other hand, you can't go on crying.'
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Alcaraz, 22, fought from two sets down and saved three championship points to defend his Roland Garros crown in a magnificent six-hour Paris thriller Getty Images Carlos Alcaraz produced a comeback for the ages to defeat Jannik Sinner and take the 2025 French Open final in a six-hour instant classic in Paris. Alcaraz, 22, defended his title by coming back from two sets down and saving three championship points to win 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2). The Spaniard was broken twice as the world No. 1 and slight favorite Sinner started strongly on Court Philippe-Chatrier, and Alcaraz went two sets behind after being edged out of the second-set tiebreak at sunny Roland Garros. Alcaraz won three breaks in the third set and won a dramatic tiebreak to level the match before he went 7-0 up in the championship breaker with some celestial tennis and sealed his triumph with a laser forehand. GO FURTHER Carlos Alcaraz beats Jannik Sinner to win French Open in tennis classic Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Firstly, we should direct you to our live coverage from Saturday's action, where you can recap everything that happened, play-by-play, in gloriously full detail. As the below article will tell you, Coco Gauff fought back to beat Aryna Sabalenka in a titanic French Open final. Gauff, the second seed, lost a tiebreak at the end of an impossibly close opening set in Paris, but battled back to claim her second Grand Slam title, winning 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4. GO FURTHER French Open final: Coco Gauff beats Aryna Sabalenka to win second Grand Slam title Getty Images We would love to hear from you. Whether it's a question you have always wanted answered, a comment, or an observation... We welcome it all. Send us an email at: live@ — and we'll feature the best of what we receive in this live coverage. Don't be shy. Get typing. The women's doubles final is also on today, also on Philippe-Chatrier. In that match, the unseeded Aleksandra Krunić/Anna Danilina take on Italian duo Jasmine Paolini/Sara Errani (2). The mixed doubles was wrapped up on Thursday as Evan King and Taylor Townsend of the United States were beaten in straight sets by Errani and Andrea Vavassori, 6-4, 6-2. While the men's doubles finished yesterday with victory for a veteran duo. Horacio Zeballos, 40, and Marcel Granollers, 39, the fifth seeds, beat Brits Joe Salisbury/Neal Skupski (8) in three sets, 6-0, 6-7(5), 7-5. As aforementioned, it's the men's singles final on the main show court, Philippe-Chatrier, at 9 a.m. ET, 2 p.m. BST. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have battled all the way to a championship tiebreak in the men's singles final at the 2025 French Open in Paris today. Alcaraz drew an early advantage but world No. 1 Sinner hit back to take the opener 6-4 and again to force an early break in the second, before the Italian eventually won the tiebreak to go within a set of the title. On Court Philippe-Chatrier, champion Alcaraz (2) battled back to win the third set. With Sinner on the brink of victory, Alcaraz saved three match points to force a tiebreak before pulling level to force a final set. TV: TNT, truTV, Tennis Channel (U.S.), TNT Sports, Discovery+ GO FURTHER Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and the French Open final that neither player will lose Roland Garros, Paris, France The imposing stadium complex is in the 16th arrondissement (district) of the French capital city. Court Philippe-Chatrier, Suzanne-Lenglen, and Simonne-Mathieu are the show courts here. It's the only major played on clay and is a staple of the tennis calendar every year. 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