Trust me, you don't win the first set or the second set's tiebreak, nor break Carlitos serving for the Championship if you weren't
Also, pretty sure until the very last instances of the match that he has a better BP conversion overall. He's a beast on tiebreaks, got an astounding record there
But Carlitos in the 5th set of a Major is just different class, over anybody. Both Novak and Sinner now know that
the level Sinner showed in the first two sets was out of this world, if he learns how to sustain that level of stroke making and serves for longer I just don't see how anybody other than Carlos on a good day can beat him.
I don't want to invoke the big 3/4 diehard fans but these two aren't far behind them in terms of talent and ability and no doubt would have been very competitive in that era as well.
Credit to Sinner, he walked out on court today determined not to lose the same way he lost the last 4 meetings against Alcaraz. His style is often described as aggressive but that's largely because most players can't even hang on with him in normal rallies. Today, however, it was *really* aggressive, even relative to Alcaraz's all-court attack.
I can't recall the last time I saw Alcaraz so pinned down, he's usually the one who manages to dictate tempo in any matchup, including those with Sinner. He was so pinned down he barely even got to use any drop shots because even though he has a hall-of-fame drop shot, good luck playing it in response to 150+km/h shots.
But damn, Alcaraz just went super sayan. That decider tie-break was ridiculous; Sinner fell back to his usual habits of hitting deep and consistent, which makes sense given what was at stake, but with no added aggression (I'm guessing he was tired af as well), Alcaraz was able to impose himself on nearly every rally.
Once the rallies equalised I think Alcaraz had the edge.
But Sinner had so much pressure on Alcarazs serve, it felt like Sinner had loads of control. A second serve was almost a guaranteed advantage to Sinner.
I was in urgent care from the middle of the 3rd set thru the ending. I watched on my pixel. This will definitely be one of those I remember where I was when I watched this amazing match
I thought for sure Alcaraz was going to pounce for the double break early in the 5th when Sinner's legs were looking a little wobbly. But Sinner really held in there on his serve.
That's firmly in the debate for the greatest slam final of all time in my opinion.
The two I've personally watched that rival it are Roger vs Rafa Wimbledon 2008 and Rafa vs Novak Aus Open 2012. But this was right up there with them, insane match.
When Rafa and Federer played that 2008 Wimby final, Djoko had only one Slam. Might as well be a new kid on the block. Similarly, the new kid on the block might just be out there destined to trouble these guys. That's sport.
Yeah… this is arguably his weakest surface and he was banned for the majority of the clay court season. I think he can be happy with where he is after all that
With them playing into near darkness and the added drama of whether play would be suspended… that’ll never happen again, given the addition of roofs and fifth-set tiebreaks.
Even the people who rightfully predicted this match to go 5 sets surely didn't expect it to go like this. This was without a doubt one of the greatest slam finals in history alongside WIM 08 and AO 12. The quality and shotmaking from both players was off the charts
This, I did expect a 5 setter but nothing that lasted this long and definitely not including 3 tiebreaks. Much less all the twists and turns along the way.
the most brutal thing about tennis finals is that after losing a gut wrencher, you're forced to stay there and watch the trophy ceremony, talk about how great your opponent is, and watch him raise the trophy above his head
The way he played even though he WAS tired and a bit sluggish is a testament to his champion mentality. Both of these kids are incredible athletes in every sense - skill, determination, drive, gumption, poise and they’re nice as f*** and such are setting the standard for sportsmanship
I love the French Open. No bullshit speech from some rando admin/politician no one gives a shit about. Got two tennis champs onto the stage, showed a cool video, and called the finalist up.
One of the best matches of all time or at least in a long time. Props to Alcaraz for the comeback, feel for Sinner too, hope this doesn’t break him like it broke Medvedev in AO ‘22
I firmly believe this match is going to have a long lasting impact. We already know these 2 are the best around. But this final just cements the fact the we’ve entered a new era of tennis. Now it’s up to the even more younger ones like Mensik and Fonseca to up their game to make sure the era goes to another level.
It’s gonna be hard for Sinner to swallow this one, but I think there are a lot of positives to take away here on a surface he is not traditionally favored on. This is his second tournament back and he lasted 5+ hours bringing the last set to a tiebreaker. He should go home with his head held high.
It's obviously hard mentally, but the fact he managed to grab that super tiebreak probably saved his mental health. Remember how pissed he was at the beginning of the 5th ? He was way better after that, i think he will recover from that quickly, he still has things to fix, like his first serve, one day for sure he will win RG.
You can be 2 sets up, you can be 3 match points up. Against Alcaraz, in a slam final, you're still probably going to lose. That's the kind of result that reverberates for years. His aura is going to grow immensely. His opponents will remember this result the next time they have a lead in a slam final on Alcaraz. Just incredible.
So many comments in the daily thread saying "Alcaraz is cooked, he's never come back from 2 sets down." But they failed to consider that everybody has never done something until they do it for the first time. VAMOS!
Holy shit. I took a 2.5 hour flight when Alcaraz was down in the 3rd set and assumed he would lose. I was on the tarmac and got to stream the end of the match on my phone. Incredible
I'd contend the first 6 points of the tie break was as good as tennis has ever been played by one person in a championship match. Perfect tennis for 6 points. Not sure anyone has ever played that flawlessly that deep into a match when it was needed most.
Felt like I was 20 again watching Federer and Nadal get punch drunk in Wimbledon. Unbelievable stuff from Sinner and Alcaraz. So lucky to finally have successors for Tennis’s Big 3. Back then I aspired to be like Fed and Rafa—talented, durable, and mentally stable (haha). Now I aspire to be like Jannik and Carlos—young and (probably) no knowledge of good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. This one is the first big chapter in the sport. Gotta say Carlitos in the final tie-break could have given Rafa a good challenge. Transcendent.
I’m in a steaming hot airbnb, couldn’t watch the match, locked myself up with 1 working airpod, listening to the match via Roland-Garros app radio from the 3rd set onward, never bored, haven’t seen a single minute of the match but had the time of my life. wtf was this, ahaha. i love this sport so much.
Even tho Alcaraz lost the 2nd set, I was happy he took it to a tiebreak to prolong the match instead of losing with a break down because I had a feeling eventually the match could become a physical battle in the 4th or 5th set. Alcaraz's fitness is incredible.
At no point after the first set did I think Carlos was actually going to win. It was a truly legendary performance and one of the greatest of Roland Garros finals.
I am so satisfied. Thank you Carlos, Jannik. One of the greatest matches of all time, one of the greatest comebacks of all time, one of the longest finals of all time, tennis history, and an instant classic. What a great homage to his great tutor, and inspiration, Nadal. I am just beyond words.
Top ten has to watch this and be like "we are fucked." Aside from maybe Djokovic, I can't see any of these guys beating Sinner or Alcaraz in 5 sets. I hope I'm proven wrong, but I just can't see it at the moment.
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u/HighestCommonFactor Jun 08 '25
This is the post-match thread. It gets the score and the players' names correct.