The dawn of a new era in men’s tennis finally arrived, and in some style.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated the sport for two years but, like a pair of heavyweight boxers ducking one another, they had never met in a Grand Slam final.
Roland-Garros set the stage and the best players on the planet delivered a stone-cold classic, with Alcaraz saving three championship points before winning the longest final in French Open history, a five-set, five-hour 29-minute epic.
It was the first major final between two men born in this century and on this evidence, there will be plenty more.
“It’s not overstating things to say this was one of the greatest Grand Slam final of all time,” said Sky Sports’ Jonathan Overend. “Always so hard to judge, compare and contrast and line them all up together but in the Open Era of Slam finals we’ve witnessed that is in a very small collection of all-time great matches.
“You’d have to put the Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic Australian Open final in 2012 in there because it was almost six hours and Andy Murray against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2013 for the historical element but for me, the previous best was the Wimbledon final of 2008 when Nadal beat [Roger] Federer 9-7 in the final set and that’s the one which is always in my mind as being above the rest that is the greatest match I’ve ever seen.
“Now it has competition from Sinner and Alcaraz at Roland-Garros in 2025. For so many reasons but the one I highlight is just the sheer quality of play so late in the match and that was what distinguished the Nadal-Federer ’08 final.
“They would deliver these incredible exchanges in near darkness. It had gone 9pm on Centre Court at Wimbledon that year and I didn’t think I would see tennis played that late in such an important match that well again.
“On Sunday, we did! It was a level that matched ’08, and dare I say it, it bettered ’08.
“Just elite tennis, taking it to new heights and the fifth-set tie-break Alcaraz played was close to perfection. It was an incredible match between two guys who are still so young. It scares you in terms of their potential.
“It just makes you think where can they possible go from here. If we’re concluding that match was as good as Nadal against Federer at their peak, where can Sinner and Alcaraz take this rivalry?
“The fact that they’ve shared between them the last six Grand Slams and they had this perfect record in Grand Slam finals before Sunday, I can see this happening over, and over, and over again for the next decade. They’re at such a level where they’re going to have to raise their game even further.
“They are going to push themselves further and further ahead the way Nadal, Djokovic and Federer has to do to each other.
“Sinner and Alcaraz are going to have to dominate when their biggest rival [Djokovic] is an all-time great player. These two are already in that conversation. Just in terms of the excitement level for this rivalry, because they have peaked so early in their careers, the only way is up from here and that is so exciting for the future of tennis.”
Robson: It was theatre
Former British No 1 Laura Robson became engrossed by the “theatre” of the final despite spending the day fulfilling work commitments in her role as tournament director of the new women’s WTA 500 event at Queen’s Club.
Speaking to Sky Sports, she said: “I was checking the score throughout the day and I was thinking ‘this is why there’s nothing better than live sport because it’s so unpredictable’. You can’t get any better than that – it was theatre!
“The final is impossible to compare in the same way you try not to compare different era’s of the sport because the game style has moved on and the equipment is different. Why would I want to compare a vintage Federer-Nadal final because they’re all great.
“When I was watching that fifth set I was thinking of the Djokovic-Nadal final in Australia when they were so exhausted they had to get chairs for them to sit down because they couldn’t stand up any more and that was the vibe it was giving me.
“We’re lucky as a sport that after the ‘Big Three’ we now have these two pushing each other to new heights in the sport.”
Alcaraz’s coach, former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, spoke about the rivalry after the final, saying: “For the sport it’s something amazing to have these players, this kind of rivalry they have.
“Having these two guys fighting for big trophies, I think we have to be very happy about it in the sport of tennis. They know they have to play unbelievable tennis to beat the other guy.”
Henman: One of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz discuss their rivalry, their differences and how they push each other to become better players
Tim Henman also rated the match as being right up with the greatest, with the former British No 1 telling TNT Sports: “When you’ve got the top two going head to head, it doesn’t always live up to the hype, but that is one of the best, one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen.
“And to have it in a Grand Slam final is something special. Spare a thought for Jannik Sinner. He played some amazing tennis and got oh so close.”
Legend John McEnroe claimed Alcaraz and Sinner would likely beat 22-time major winner Nadal at his peak, saying on TNT Sports: “You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best.
“Do I think they’re going reach 20, 24 (titles), either one of them? No, because that plateau is so hard.
“But these two guys right now, it’s like when you watch the NBA and you say nobody could be better than Michael Jordan. The tennis level right now is higher than I’ve ever seen.”
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
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