Carlos Alcaraz described Jannik Sinner as "incredible" following their history-making French Open final that saw the Spaniard emerge victorious on Sunday.
French Open 2025: Alcaraz Delighted To Make Roland-Garros History With 'Incredible' Sinner
The 22-year-old found himself two sets down on Court Philippe-Chatrier and had never come back from such a deficit in his career, but turned on the style in Paris
Alcaraz lifted the fifth grand slam title of his career, and second at Roland-Garros, with a 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-2) triumph over the world number one.
The 22-year-old found himself two sets down on Court Philippe-Chatrier and had never come back from such a deficit in his career, but turned on the style in Paris.
In doing so, Alcaraz became the fourth player this century to win a men's singles grand slam title for four consecutive years, after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
And he was made to work incredibly hard for his victory. The Spaniard was forced to save three match points in the fourth set before sealing the title in a fifth-set tie-break.
Indeed, he is only the third player in the Open Era to win a men's singles grand slam final after saving match point(s), after Gaston Gaudio (Roland-Garros 2004) and Djokovic (Wimbledon 2019).
In what was the first grand slam meeting between Sinner and Alcaraz, the top two put on a display that will go down in history, and more than lived up to the billing.
The five-hour and 29-minute epic was also the longest men's singles final at Roland-Garros in the Open Era, surpassing the previous record held by Mats Wilander and Guillermo Vilas in 1982, which lasted four hours and 42 minutes.
Alcaraz's successful title defence also saw him become the player with the most men's singles grand slam finals played in the Open Era without ever losing (5-0).
The world number two has had Sinner's number in recent years. In fact, since the start of 2024, Sinner is 90-3 against everyone else other than Alcaraz, but 0-5 against the Spaniard in the same time.
But speaking shortly after being handed the trophy, Alcaraz took the time to acknowledge his opponent, who now holds the unfortunate record of being the first player in the Open Era to win the first 20 sets of a men's singles grand slam event and not win the title.
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"Hi everyone. I want to start with Jannik. It is amazing the level you have. Congratulations on an amazing tournament to you and your team," Alcaraz said.
"I know the hard work you put in. I know how hard you are chasing every tournament.
"I am sure you will be a champion many, many times, and it is a privilege to share the court with you and making history with you.
"I'm just really happy to be able to make history with you in this tournament.
"In other tournaments, you are a huge inspiration for everyone and myself. Good luck and all the best for what is coming."
Only Bjorn Borg (six) has won more men's singles grand slam titles than Alcaraz (five, level with Rod Laver and John McEnroe) after his first 17 appearances in such events in the Open Era.
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