Carlos Alcaraz offered the greatest show on earth this Sunday on the clay of Roland Garros. The Spaniard was able to come back from two sets down and three match points in the fourth against none other than Jannik Sinner to defend his Paris crown and win his fifth Grand Slam title. He closed an unforgettable scoreline of 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3) and 7-6(2). It was with a work of art in the form of a running forehand pass.At 22 years, one month and three days old, he has a handful of major crowns. The same age as Rafael Nadal when he lifted his fifth title on the grass of Wimbledon 2008 in another epic battle with Roger Federer, the number one of the time. The script was repeated in the French capital 17 seasons later
Carlitos is the eighth player to retain the Musketeers’ Cup in the Open Era. “Finals are there to be won.” That is his motto and he goes with it to the bitter end. Five out of five
Sinner can hold his head high, but with the feeling that the Spaniard is a nightmare for the present and the future. Five consecutive defeats and goodbye to a run of 20 wins without failure in the majors.
The longest final in the tournament was between Mats Wilander and Guillermo Vilas, in the 1982 edition. It lasted 4 hours and 42 minutes. The new record will also be in the hands of Juan Carlos Ferrero and Samuel Lopez’s pupil. His battle for the prize lasted 5 hours and 29 minutes.
The second longest final in time on the big stage, only surpassed by the 2012 Australian Open final between Nadal and Novak Djokovic (5 hours and 53 minutes)
Alcaraz had the first three break point opportunities in the opening game and sent two backhand returns into the net and his opponent reached a volley drop shot. The long exchanges predicted a tough battle. The first game lasted 12 minutes
Sinner had changed the pace of the defending champion. Accustomed to being the second to enter the Philippe Chatrier arena, this time he had to be first because of the hierarchy of the ranking. His bench members also had to change their position
Carlos Alcaraz was more erratic with his backhand. He solved the first break point against him with a serve. The world number one clung to his serve to neutralize a 15-40 in the third game. Twenty-four minutes had passed
The rallies went in favor of the Spaniard, with many of Jannik’s shots dying in the net
The tennis player tutored by Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi saved the sixth break point with a parallel forehand. So much goes the pitcher to the fountain that it broke at the seventh
From 2-3 it went to 4-3. The backs were all the way up. Sinner had a 30-40 for 5-3. The Spaniard’s forehand slammed the door shut. Alcaraz was forced to serve at 5-4 down to stay in the set
58 minutes had passed and he had to be treated in his right eye. Something had got into it and the physio ran out to solve the emergency. He gave up the next game, with a backhand that spat out the net, and goodbye to the set
Jannik had won the 19 sets played in the Open. The other finalist had lost sets in five of the seven matches. That’s a confidence boost for the one who was left. Carlitos, an example of fair play, gave his opponent a good serve that earned him the first game of the continuation
Seven games from the last eight
The four-time major champion was still erratic. He gave up his third service game in the last four. The final was very uphill both on the scoreboard and in terms of sensations. The score was already 3-0
The Spaniard opened his account to make it 3-1, and with the score at 4-2, he encouraged the crowd to believe in the comeback. “Carlos, Carlos,” they shouted
Alcaraz had his moment, with 5-3 and 30-40. It was all second serves for the San Candido player. And he paid the price. From 5-2 to 5-5. From dominated to dominator. Sinner made sure of the tiebreaker at 6-5 and then won it.
The two-set advantage seemed too much even for Carlitos, who was able to win four games in a row after handing over the first of the third. He spoke to his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero from a distance
He would win the third set. He was gritting his teeth. He was ready for a comeback for the history books. The dynamics of the match had changed. The number two was on the rise and the top seed was on the decline. He was ready to turn around for the first time such an adverse result. That’s why he sent to string two rackets
Everyone with Carlitos
The final had become a kind of rollercoaster. The Italian was the first to strike: 4-3 and serve for him. But with Alcaraz on the other side of the net, magic could come at any moment. And it did. From 5-3 and three match points, it went to another tiebreak
Except for Jannik’s bench, the rest of those present were all with Carlitos. He transmits a lot and the other nothing. Andre Agassi was freaking out from the front row of the box. He also wanted to hand the cup to the Spaniard. His wish came true
Sinner came back to life when his opponent was serving for the win. From 5-3 it went to 5-6. So much equality led to the outcome in the super ‘tie break’. The best of 10 points was won by the king of clay
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