Carlos Alcaraz saved three championship points against top-seed Jannik Sinner to win the longest Roland Garros final, which lasted for five hours and 29 minutes at Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday. Alcaraz registered a 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) triumph and became the third man in the Open Era to save at least one championship point en route to a Grand Slam trophy.
The Spaniard lost the first two sets but bounced back in the third to stay alive. In the fourth set, Alcaraz was down 3-5, 0-40 on serve but saved all three championship points and took the game into the tiebreaker.
In the fifth set, Alcaraz had a chance to serve for the championship after taking an early break but he could not hold his serve. However, in the last 10 minutes, Alcaraz lifted his level, which Sinner could not match.
Furthermore, Alcaraz became the ninth man in the Open Era to rally from two sets down to win a major final.
“I just want to say thank you for everything to my team and family;” said Alcaraz. “I have the privilege to be able to live great things with you. I was lucky to have a lot of people who came from Murcia, from home, to support me. It is just amazing support you gave me today, during the whole two weeks, [including] the people who weren’t able to come but are at home. Thank you very much and this trophy is yours as well, so thank you.”
On the other hand, Jannik Sinner gave his congratulations to Alcaraz and his gratitude to his team and support staff.
“First of all, Carlos, congrats. An amazing performance, an amazing battle, amazing everything,” said Sinner at the trophy ceremony. “To you and your team, amazing job. I’m very happy for you and you deserve it.
“It’s easier to play than talk now. Obviously, to my team: Thank you so much for [helping to put] myself in this position. We tried our best today, gave everything we had. Some time ago, we would have signed to be here, so still an amazing tournament even though it’s very difficult for now.”
It was a great battle between the top two players on the tour and will definitely go down as one of the best Grand Slam finals in tennis history.
