They were in it for the long game: five hours and 29 minutes, to be exact. In the longest Roland Garros final in the Open Era, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz defeated world No. 1 Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in a thrilling French Open final on Sunday.
Both players entered Court Philippe-Chatrier with undefeated records in Grand Slam finals. In fact, Sinner won two consecutive major titles at the 2024 US Open and the 2025 Australian Open and was hoping to continue his hot streak. While the two young superstars hadn’t met previously in a Grand Slam final, Alcaraz led their head-to-head at 7-4, claiming the last four matches, which included last year’s Roland Garros semifinal.
Yet, no one would’ve predicted such a dramatic ending, especially after how it initially unfolded. Sinner started strong, taking the first set and shutting out Alcaraz in a second set tiebreak. Alcaraz was visibly frustrated at the beginning of the third set, shouting up to his team in the stands.
While he managed to come away with the third set, Alcaraz stared down the barrel of defeat in the fourth, down 3-5 at 0-40 on serve. But, emblematic of the entire match, Alcaraz stayed alive and saved three championship points, winning the set in another tiebreak and extending the match to a decisive fifth set.
The last set mirrored the rest of the match, with Sinner and Alcaraz making impossible returns and staying in mind-boggling rallies. Sinner’s composure carried him through the match, but he let some exhaustion and frustration creep through toward the end. After all, Sinner isn’t used to having to go the distance at the majors—he made it to the final without dropping a set, and he was 0-5 in matches over four hours and only 5-15 in five-setters. Regardless, Sinner hosted a small comeback of his own, pushing through from a break down to force a third tiebreak—the first tiebreak ever in a Roland Garros men’s singles final.
With the support of the crowd emphatically behind Alcaraz, he wouldn’t let Sinner on the scoreboard through the first seven points, and ultimately took the title at 10-2 with a forehand winner down the line.
As the entire stadium jumped to their feet, Alcaraz collapsed on the ground. With red dirt splayed across his white shirt, Alcaraz got up to embrace Sinner, showing mutual respect in a friendly rivalry. The champion now holds a significant 13-1 fifth-set record and is the eighth man in the Open Era to successfully defend his Roland Garros title while adding a fifth major title to his record.
In a poised and gracious on-court speech, Sinner lamented his loss, but immediately praised his competitor for a well-earned victory.
“First of all, Carlos, congrats. Again, an amazing performance, an amazing battle, an amazing everything,” Sinner said. “I’m very happy for you, and you deserve it.”
In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz returned the compliments.
“Every match that I'm playing against him is important, honestly,” Alcaraz said. “This is the first match in a Grand Slam final. Hopefully not the last time. Because, as I said many times, every time that we face against each other, we raise our level to the top.”
While Alcaraz ended up lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires, the championship match was perhaps one of the greatest displays of tennis in a Grand Slam final. Television commentators marveled over the talent of Alcaraz and Sinner, calling them the “New Two” as their nascent dominance in the sport crystalizes.
At just 22 and 23 years old, Alcaraz and Sinner have won seven of the last eight Grand Slam tournaments. Meeting for the first time in the Roland Garros final marked the first Grand Slam men’s championship match between two players born in 2000s, and perhaps ushering in the next generation of tennis greats, on the heels of Rafael Nadal’s retirement.
Both players endured an electrifying match that will go down in history, but for today, Alcaraz proved that second (seed) is the best.
