The match was all but over. Jannik Sinner was on the cusp of winning his first French Open title. But everything changed. Carlos Alcaraz miraculously saved three match points, broke Sinner in the next game, and then captured the tiebreaker to win the fourth set. The Spanish star then rode that momentum into the fifth set and won the French Open for the second consecutive year in a thrilling final-set tiebreak.
Not only did Alcaraz save three match points on his own serve, break Sinner when the Italian was serving for the match, but the Spaniard star also came back from a 2-0 set deficit. It was the first time in Alcaraz's career that he won a match after trailing 2-0. In addition, he became the first player in history to save at least three match points and win the final match of the French Open.
For Sinner, this one is going to hurt for a long time. The three-time major champion was seeking his first French Open title – fresh off a three-month suspension for banned-substance use – and had no one to blame but himself that he couldn't get the job done. Carlos Alcaraz has been a big problem for Sinner throughout his career, even though Sinner is the #1-ranked player in the world with Alcaraz at #2. Since the start of 2024, Alcaraz has beaten Sinner five consecutive times, including last month in the final of the Rome Masters and last year in the French Open semifinal.
Sinner won the first set, 6-4, before outlasting Alcaraz in a second-set tiebreak to open the two-set lead. He then broke Alcaraz in the first game of the third set, clearing the path to victory. Sinenr simply needed to hold serve for the rest of the set to become champion. But he couldn't do it. Carlos Alcaraz is the hardest player in tennis to put away and Sinner found out the hard way on Sunday in Paris.
The Spaniard bounced back from the first-game break to win four-straight games over the Italian and eventually won the third set, 6-4. But the fourth set is where it all unraveled for Sinner. Down 5-3, Alcaraz fell into a love-40 hole on his own serve, giving Sinner three championship points. However, Alcaraz rattled off five straight to win the game. But Sinner still had an opportunity to win the French Open. He just needed to hold serve. Once again, though, Alcaraz showed how much grit he has on the tennis court, breaking Sinner to bring the set back to even before winning in the tiebreak.
The Spaniard broke the Italian in the first game of the final set and appeared on his way to cruising to victory. Alcaraz held serve all the way until it was time to serve for the match, up 5-4. But Sinner dug deep and somehow found a way to break Alcaraz and square the final set at five games apiece. Sinner then held serve and Alcaraz followed suit to send arguably the best final match in major tennis championship history into a winner-take-all tiebreaker. The only fitting end to an incredible match between two unbelievable players.
Those looking for a dramatic tiebreak didn't get it, though, as Alcaraz won the first seven points to essentially put it away. Sinner fought back to grab a few points, but the highly-athletic and incredibly-conditioned Alcaraz was too much in the end.
Clearly, the "Big Two" era in tennis is here. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the best players in the world and then there's a large gap between them and everyone else. Combined, they've won the past six major titles and seven of the last eight. While Sinner remains the #1-ranked player over Alcaraz, it's more like a 1a and 1b situation. And, for the moment, Alcaraz is the one standing atop the tennis world.
from The Latest & Most Breaking News With OutKick https://ift.tt/O50Glu2