Alcaraz puts French Open miracle down to 'real champions' mindset

New Straits Times

a day ago

PARIS: Carlos Alcaraz said "real champions" are made in tough situations after the Spaniard saved three championship points and fought from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in the French Open final on Sunday.
Reigning champion Alcaraz looked set to relinquish his Roland Garros title when he fell 5-3 behind in the fourth set, but the 22-year-old instead pulled off one of the greatest escape acts in Grand Slam history.
Alcaraz withstood three match points from 0-40 on his serve to outlast world number one Sinner in a thriller, winning 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (10/2) after five hours and 29 minutes.
"When the situations are against you, you have to fight, keep fighting," said Alcaraz, who had never before won a match from a two-set deficit.
"I mean, it is a Grand Slam final. It's no time to be tired. It's no time to give up. It's time to keep fighting, trying to find your moment, your good place again, and just go for it.
"I think the real champions are made in those situations when you deal with that pressure. I mean, that's what the real champions have done in their whole careers."
Alcaraz won his fifth Grand Slam in as many finals after becoming just the third man to win a major after saving match point.
Novak Djokovic was the last to do so when he beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2019.
"The match is not finished until he wins the last point," said Alcaraz.
"It's just one point away from losing the match, yeah. But a lot of times people came back from match point down in final of a Grand Slam or even in other matches.
"So I just wanted to be one of those players who saved match point in the Grand Slam final and ended up winning.
"I just believe all the time. I have never doubt about myself, even though in those match points down. I thought just one point at a time."
Alcaraz recorded his fifth consecutive win over Sinner and leads the head-to-head 8-4, but this was the biggest showdown in a burgeoning rivalry between the two brightest talents of a new generation.
"This is the first match in a Grand Slam final. Hopefully not the last time," said Alcaraz.
"Because I mean, as I said many times, every time that we face against each other, we raise our level to the top."
Sinner was attempting to capture his third successive Grand Slam after his US Open title last year and a successful defence of his Australian Open crown in January.
His 20-match winning streak at majors came to an end as did his hopes of becoming Italy's first French Open men's champion since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Sinner is a staggering 91-8 since the beginning of last year, but five of those defeats have been inflicted by Alcaraz.
"I'm sure he's going to learn from this match, and he's going to come back stronger the next time we are going to face against each other," said Alcaraz.
"I'm pretty sure he's going to do his homework.