Carlos Alcaraz claimed his fifth major title at Roland Garros on Sunday, overcoming Jannik Sinner in a dramatic final. Alcaraz saved three championship points to win 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) and became the ninth man in the Open Era to recover from two sets down in a major final.
The match marked another chapter in the rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner, who first met at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris in 2021. Their encounter turned into the longest Roland Garros final on record, lasting five hours and 29 minutes.
Alcaraz faced defeat late in the fourth set but managed to save three championship points and broke Sinner’s serve to change the momentum. In the decisive fifth-set tie-break, he secured victory under pressure. This made him only the third man this century to defend his Roland Garros crown successfully.
After his victory, Alcaraz embraced Sinner, highlighting their mutual respect. The Spaniard now holds a remarkable record of 13 wins and one loss in fifth sets. In contrast, Sinner’s record fell to six wins and ten losses.
This win was Alcaraz’s Tour-leading 37th of the season and extended his lead against Sinner to eight wins out of twelve matches. He has maintained an unbeaten record in Grand Slam finals (5–0). With this victory, he joined Thomas Muster and Rafael Nadal as players who have won multiple Masters 1000 titles on clay and Roland Garros in a single season since 1990.
Alcaraz also achieved his milestone of winning twenty tour-level titles as the first player born in the 2000s to do so.
Sinner was aiming for his second title of the season after winning the Australian Open but could not surpass Alcaraz. Despite losing his first major final with a previous record of three wins out of four finals, he remains atop the PIF ATP Rankings with a lead of over two thousand points.
In an engaging match that saw many breakpoints saved by both players, Sinner initially took control by winning two sets before Alcaraz fought back. The Spaniard increased aggression helped him turn around what seemed like an inevitable defeat into a historic victory at Roland Garros.
Both players have combined to win each of the past six Grand Slam titles.
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