Was Carlos Alcaraz’s incredible comeback against the world number one, Jannik Sinner, in that epic 5 hours and 29 minutes long French Open final, one of the greatest matches in the history of the sport? From astonishing athleticism, spell-binding shot-making to showcasing incredible resilience throughout the match, the drama was at its peak in front of 15,000 fans at Court Philippe-Chatrier. Speaking about the epic battle, the 14-time Roland Garros champion gave a nod, saying, “It was a match for the ages.” American legend, John McEnroe, said, “I’ve been doing this 30 years sitting up, lucky enough to be here. That’s one of the all-timers easily.” Mats Wilander, who played in and won the longest French Open final before this, said that while Federer and Nadal have had some great battles, he still feels like nothing really comes close to what went down between Alcaraz and Sinner. Even Katie Boulter felt ‘Sincaraz’ rivalry had superseded the ‘Fedal’. But what does Carlos Alcaraz have to say about this epic final?

Previously, the Spaniard had never rallied from two sets down to win a Grand Slam, while Jannik Sinner hadn’t squandered a two-set lead since his 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic. But that changed when Alcaraz pulled off a stunning comeback—4-6, 6(4)-7, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2)—to defeat the Italian and claim his fifth major title. In doing so, he also became just the third man in the Open Era to win a Slam after saving at least one championship point. Emotions were high, and so was the intensity. After this match, Alcaraz thanked his friends, family members, and his team for their incredible support throughout this journey.

With that win, he also became the third-youngest man in history to reach the five-major milestone (after Bjorn Borg and his “idol” Rafael Nadal). Speaking about this epic battle in a recent press conference, Alcaraz revealed whether he was a bit surprised by what he achieved on that day or not. “Sometimes, yeah, I mean I still you know..the phone, the media, you know everywhere is showing that a lot of video from that match, from that moment…match point down and I still watch it sometimes and I still don’t believe that I came back from that moment. So, sometimes it’s difficult to realize that I’m in this position and I won the French Open…watching the video from 40-0 in that moment…”

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have now combined to win each of the last six major titles. Pure domination. When he was asked by Tennis TV about what level he thought he had reached in this epic final against the world number one, the Spaniard admitted, “Honestly, I think I can’t reach a better level than that. I think the level of that final..I think both of us were really high. But honestly, talking about myself, I’m gonna say that’s the best match that I’ve ever played. So, that’s the level I played! (laughs).”

Several tennis experts, including Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs, hailed this as “possibly the greatest match” that she has ever seen, but what does Alcaraz have to say on this? “If people put our match in that [bracket], it’s a huge honour for me,” said Carlos Alcaraz. So, he preferred to “let the people decide” on this. But what was his opponent, Jannik Sinner’s, reaction to this heartbreaking defeat?

“Had already a few sleepless nights” – Jannik Sinner’s honest revelation about his disappointing defeat against Carlos Alcaraz

With this win, Carlos Alcaraz has now taken his H2H record to 8-4 against Sinner. What’s more is that with that defeat, Sinner became the first player in the Open Era to clinch the first 20 sets of a Men’s Singles Grand Slam event and not win the title—a rather heartbreaking record. After the match, his disappointment was evident when he said, “It’s easier to play than talk now.” However, later on in an interview, Jannik Sinner stated, “This hurts, yes. But in the other way, you cannot keep going crying – it happens.”

Now, the defending champion is all set to start his campaign at the Terra Wortmann Open against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann, but before starting this campaign on the grass courts, Jannik Sinner took a look back on his not-so-fond memories from terre battue yet again. He believes there is a negative and a positive side to that epic battle. Despite that disappointment, Sinner is happy with his level at Roland Garros.

However, talking about this setback against Carlos Alcaraz, and what lies ahead of him, Sinner said, “I think that for me to play another tournament is positive, because every match is a new beginning, and I must be mentally ready to give my all on the court. Therefore, it is great I can be here in Halle. But yes, I had already a few sleepless nights, but I think every day it gets better.”

With the grass court season already up and running, Carlos Alcaraz is the defending champion at Wimbledon. Do you think Sinner can take his revenge on Carlitos on the grass court major?