Carlos Alcaraz saved three championship points and came back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in the longest French Open final ever, a 5-hour 29-minute battle on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Three match points erased
Sinner controlled the opening two sets and broke early in the third. The match seemed over when he earned three match points at 0-40 on the Alcaraz serve late in the fourth set.
Alcaraz wiped away all three — the most ever saved in a men's major final in the Open Era. A cross-court backhand winner forced a tiebreak that levelled the contest.
A deciding-set test of nerve
Alcaraz built an early lead in the fifth, lost it, then served to stay alive at 5-6. A stunning cross-court winner at 6-6 sent the final into a match-deciding tiebreak.
He raced ahead 4-0 and closed it out to seal a 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) victory. It was the second-longest major final in history, behind only the 2012 Australian Open.
He became just the third man in the Open Era to win a major after facing championship points down.
A fifth crown and a perfect finals record
The win gave Alcaraz back-to-back Roland Garros titles and his fifth major overall, keeping him unbeaten in Grand Slam finals. He also ended Sinner’s 20-match winning streak at the majors.
“I’m pretty sure you’ll be champion not once, but many many times,” Alcaraz told Sinner afterwards. “It’s a privilege to share the court with you.”
At 22, the Spaniard stood with a fifth Slam and the longest final in the event’s long history.
