Take it from eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi; he knows what elite-level play looks like in men’s tennis. The last American to win the French Open delivered Sunday’s singles trophy to 22-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz after a heart-stopping, five-set victory over world No. 1 Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros.
Alcaraz’s second consecutive Grand Slam on clay and the fifth of his blossoming career was improbable after he overcame a two-set deficit in a major for the first time in his career. Alcaraz fought off triple-championship point in the fourth set and later won the first seven points of the 10-point tiebreak in the fifth to decide the match.
Despite being the new ‘Prince of Clay’ given his latest heroics, Alcaraz is gearing up for a potentially more memorable tournament showing later this month in another major, according to Agassi.
2025 French Open: Carlos Alcaraz outlasts Jannik Sinner with majestic five-set comeback for fifth Grand Slam
Brad Crawford
“Alcaraz’s best surface to me, shockingly, would be between here and Wimbledon … I would say grass,” Agassi said on set with Patrick McEnroe at the French Open. “Reason I would say grass has nothing to do with his swings. It has to do with the less diminishing speed that happens to him versus other players.
“You got to remember — this guy has defensive speed like Novak (Djokovic), if not more. He has feel like (Roger) Federer, you can argue at times, if not more. He has RPMs and pace like Rafa (Nadal), you could argue, maybe even more. He has to string that stuff together. When he gets out there on the grass and then you bring in that UFO movement stuff, I mean, his second step is ridiculous and he believes in it so much he doesn’t peel out defensively when you push him into corners.”
Agassi’s first major title came on grass at Wimbledon in 1992 and that was his last victory at the All England Club. Alcaraz will be gunning for his third consecutive Wimbledon title in a few weeks after taking out Djokovic in the final the last two years.
Alcaraz’s stellar play magnified down the stretch
Alcaraz chased down nearly every return punch from Sinner in Sunday’s final set with cat-like quickness, using energy from the crowd inside Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris to help fuel his comeback. Considering Sinner had won 32 consecutive major sets until failing in the third, Alcaraz’s marathon comeback was simply improbable.
He’s the first man to save match point and later win in a Grand Slam final since Djokovic outlasted Federer at Wimbledon in 2019.
“The match is not finished until he wins the last point,” Alcaraz said after the match. “A lot of times people came back from match point down in final of a Grand Slam or even in other matches. I just wanted to be one of those players who saved match point in the Grand Slam final and ended up winning.
“I just believed all the time. I never doubted myself, even in those match points down. I thought, just one point at a time. Just one point and then after one point, try to save that game and keep believing. That’s what I thought.”
2025 French Open: What Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner said after all-time men’s singles final at Roland Garros
Brad Crawford
Alcaraz credited Sinner with playing “amazing” tennis in the final, but in the end, it was his fifth consecutive victory over the hard-hitting Italian. Alcaraz became the third-fastest player in men’s tennis to reach his fifth career Grand Slam.
“Honestly, the coincidence of winning my fifth Grand Slam in the same age as Rafa Nadal, I’m going to say that’s destiny, I guess,” Alcaraz said. “It is a stat that I’m going to keep for me forever, winning the fifth Grand Slam at the same time as Rafa, my idol, my inspiration. It’s a huge honor honestly.
“Hopefully, it’s not going to stop like this.”
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