History lessons: on the French Open
The yearning for historical greatness is common among sports fans. Contemporary success and genius notwithstanding, there is often a tendency to hark back to the past and lament that present-day virtuosi are not a patch on the older ones. In tennis, this storyline was expected to unfold in the immediate aftermath of the 'Big Three' era as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal exited, and Novak Djokovic started displaying his waning powers. It is to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's credit that they have allowed none of this talk to surface. Sunday's fascinating five-set French Open final was the latest piece of evidence as the Spaniard outlasted the World No. 1 over five hours and 29 minutes of intense, scintillating action. The victory brought Alcaraz his fifth Grand Slam trophy, and the World No. 2 became only the third man after Gustavo Kuerten and Nadal to defend titles at Roland-Garros this millennium. Alcaraz and Sinner have now swept the last six Majors and eight of the previous 11. They are firmly perched at the top of tennis' current totem pole, and going by the 12th act of their engrossing play in Paris, there is little doubt that it is their rivalry that will prove era-defining for the men's game.
Leading in, it was Sinner who had been more clinical, with the highlight being the ruthless dismantling of 24-time Major winner Djokovic in the semifinal. The 23-year-old had won 29 straight sets at Slams this year, and when he made it 31 by pocketing the first two against Alcaraz, a third straight Major — fourth overall — loomed. But Alcaraz, who came in after triumphs in Monte Carlo and Rome, found a higher gear when threatened — erasing three match points in the fourth set, breaking Sinner when the Italian was serving for the championship and overcoming his own disappointment of failing to serve it out in the fifth stanza to turn the tables fully. Saturday's women's final between No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Coco Gauff was as dramatic and capricious, but alternated between middling and glorious. In the end, it was Gauff who proved steadier, overcoming some treacherous conditions and her erratic opponent in two hours and 38 minutes. Sabalenka, in fact, was the favourite, having also ousted three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek en route. But her power-packed game crumbled in the face of Gauff's restrained art as the American left her nursing consecutive defeats in Slam finals. For Gauff, 21, it was her second Major, and with a technique that is gradually improving, she is sure to rise further.
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The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
After a flawless fortnight in Paris, Sinner's eye-catching run at French Open ends in heartbreak
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. 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. Reflecting on the match in his post-final press conference, Sinner tried to draw positives from a devastating loss. '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.' Sinner, who will remain world No. 1, said he'll lean on his family and loved ones to recover from the loss. '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.'
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now take their terrific rivalry from the French Open to Wimbledon
The takeaways from Carlos Alcaraz's fifth-set tiebreaker victory over Jannik Sinner in the riveting and record-breaking French Open men's final were multiple and significant. Let's start with this: Anyone worried about how men's tennis would survive in the post-Big Three era can rest easy. Alcaraz and Sinner produced 5.5 hours of evidence Sunday (June 8, 2025) that the game is in good hands — and that their rivalry will be, and perhaps already is, a transcendent one. Take it from no less an authority than Roger Federer. The retired owner of 20 Grand Slam titles, and rival of Rafael Nadal (22 majors) and Novak Djokovic (24), began a post on social media by declaring, '3 winners in Paris today,' then listed Alcaraz, Sinner and 'the beautiful game of tennis. What a match!' This was the 12th Alcaraz-Sinner meeting, the first in a major final. 'Hopefully not the last time,' Alcaraz said. 'Every time that we face ... each other, we raise our level to the top.' It would be shocking if there weren't many more of these to come — perhaps as soon as at Wimbledon, where play begins on June 30 and No. 2-ranked Alcaraz is the two-time defending champion. His comeback against No. 1 Sinner from two sets down, then three championship points down, to win 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) was unprecedented at Roland-Garros. It was unforgettable. Alcaraz's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, described his guy's best trait this way: 'His strength is (to) keep believing all the time, until the last ball is gone.' Alcaraz's five Grand Slam titles at 22 — that's the age at which Nadal, Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras also got to five; no one's done it younger — show how special he is. So does the Spaniard's 5-0 record in major finals, a career start surpassed among men only by Federer's 7-0. Sinner is pretty good, too. Tuesday marks a full year that he has been ranked No. 1. He has reached the finals of his last eight tournaments, a run last accomplished by Djokovic a decade ago. He has won three majors. He has won 47 of his last 50 matches. Notably, all three of those losses came against — yes, you guessed it — Alcaraz. That hearkens back to the days when Federer would beat everyone other than Nadal. Sinner had claimed 31 Slam sets in a row right up until the moment he was up 2-0 against Alcaraz. What was unmistakable to anyone watching in-person at Court Philippe-Chatrier or following along from afar on TV is that Alcaraz vs. Sinner is a must-see. 'The level,' Alcaraz said, 'was insane.' Sinner's take? 'I'm happy to be part of this,' the 23-year-old Italian said. 'Would be even more happy if I would have ... the big trophy.' As with any great rivalry — think Evert vs. Navratilova or Borg vs. McEnroe or Federer vs. Nadal, no first names needed — Alcaraz vs. Sinner provides a clash of excellence and a study in contrasts. Alcaraz displays emotion, pumping his fists, pointing to an ear to ask for more noise, yelling 'Vamos!' Sinner is rather contained. Sinner's long limbs get him to nearly every ball. Alcaraz's motor reaches speeds no one can equal. Sinner's ball-striking is pure. Alcaraz's drop shots are legendary. Both hammer groundstrokes that leave opponents exasperated and spectators gasping. Both can improve. Sinner has never won a match that lasted four hours. Alcaraz loses focus on occasion. Both are eager to improve. When Sinner returned from a three-month doping ban last month, he introduced a new, angled return stance. Alcaraz tweaked his serve and backhand technique. Who knows what heights each can reach? They split the past six Slam trophies, and eight of the past 11. Federer saw this coming. During an interview with The Associated Press in December 2019, Federer predicted someone would win major after major the way he, Nadal and Djokovic did. Just didn't know there would be a Big Two doing it. 'It's going to happen, inevitably,' Federer said. 'And it's almost not going to be that hard, maybe ... because the players will have seen what we did. And they didn't see just one guy doing it, once every 30 years. They saw like three guys doing it, in the shortest period of time. ... Players are going to believe more.'
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Sincaraz: Gen Z rivalry declares its intent from Roland-Garros
Borg-McEnroe. Sampras-Agassi. Federer-Nadal. A dyadic rivalry between the best two racqueteers is the most satisfying modern translation of the medieval duel: a protracted war (minus the shooting) between two supremely talented and driven personages. On Sunday, the Law of Eternal Recurrence brought us the latest edition: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, whose rivalry is already branded as 'Sincaraz'. Many had wondered if tennis would lose its charm after the high profile departures of the likes of Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Serena Williams. Like with all end-of-era doomsaying, they need not have bothered. The sport's next era is upon us. While Novak Djokovic ground his way to yet another Slam semifinal, 'Sincaraz' have portended much more than the fate of a single tournament. From early 2024, the Italian and the Spaniard have split the six Majors. On Paris's iconic red dirt, they etched out the reasons in longform, in fact, in the longest French Open final in history, a duel that blazed in white heat, like a littoral sun at high noon, with the clock on pause. One could see why Alcaraz, who only turned 22 last week, has been compared to the likes of Nadal. At one point in the final, the Spaniard was down three match points. But he summoned his will and ran himself through a brick wall to beat the Italian in five sets. Alcaraz already owns five Majors. You could say History is among them.
