Jannik Sinner stood three points from tennis immortality on Sunday, holding triple championship point at 5-3 in the fourth set of the French Open final against Carlos Alcaraz. What followed became one of the sport’s most dramatic collapses and comebacks, as the Italian watched his pristine Parisian campaign unravel over the next two hours of breathtaking drama.
The world No. 1 had been clinical throughout the fortnight, not dropping a single set en route to the final – including a masterclass against Novak Djokovic. Against Alcaraz, his deep groundstrokes and tactical variations initially neutralized the Spaniard’s explosive game. But at 0-40 on Alcaraz’s serve, Sinner’s forehand sailed long on the first match point, a missed return followed on the second, and suddenly the momentum had shifted irrevocably.
“Obviously, this one hurts,” Sinner admitted after the 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) defeat that lasted five hours and 29 minutes – the longest Roland Garros final in history. The statistics laid bare the razor-thin margins: Sinner won 175 points to Alcaraz’s 178, while the Spaniard converted just 4 of 27 break points throughout the marathon encounter.
The loss denied Sinner a place among tennis immortals – he would have become just the fifth man in the Open Era to claim three consecutive Grand Slams. Instead, Alcaraz maintained his perfect 5-0 record in major finals while joining the elite club of players with multiple French Open titles.
As the new week begins, Sinner will still hold the world No. 1 ranking, but the psychological scars may linger. “Now it’s my time to take something from the close people I have,” he said, acknowledging the need for emotional recovery. With Wimbledon’s grass courts looming in three weeks – where Alcaraz is defending champion – tennis’ new power rivalry shows no signs of cooling, even if this particular chapter ended in heartbreak for the composed Italian.
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