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 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 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 winner on the run to take the title.
