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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Tumaini Carayol at Roland Garros

Alcaraz’s ridiculous victory over Sinner sets tone for next decade of rivalry at top of tennis

Jannik Sinner congratulates Carlos Alcaraz
The five-set French Open final thriller was the first grand slam final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Photograph: Javier García/Shutterstock

Five hours into the madness, when their legs should have been fading and sanity departing, the miraculous French Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner ascended to even greater heights. So much had already happened. For a long time, Alcaraz had been dominated with the same ruthless efficiency Sinner reserved for the rest of the field and he soon stared into the abyss, trailing triple championship point at 3-5, 0-40 in the fourth set.

That moment would instead mark the beginning of Alcaraz’s unprecedented, preposterous comeback as he completely turned the match around. He soon closed in on victory, leading by a break in the fifth set against a weary opponent. With his back to the wall, time running out, Sinner produced a transcendent return game as Alcaraz served for the title at 5-4 to draw level again.

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