Bill Simons
PARIS
The tournament began with a poignant salute to Spain’s greatest sports hero, Rafa Nadal. But in its last match, the country’s new wonder whiz was about to suffer a crushing defeat.
Down 3-5 in the fourth set, Carlos Alcaraz’s fate was seemingly sealed, as he faced three championship points against the steeliest competitor the ATP had to offer.
Jannik Sinner’s most ardent fans, dressed in orange, claimed their super hero was faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. The No. 1 player in the world, Jannik Sinner, had won two Slams in a row and was on a 20-match Grand Slam winning streak. The first man to beat Novak Djokovic four times in a row in the past 15 years, he hadn’t lost a set en route to the final.
But the superman of tennis had a problem, just like the super hero. Carlos Alcaraz was his kryptonite. The Spaniard had a 7-4 head-to-head advantage. He’d downed Jannik four times in a row including at the Italian Open just three weeks ago.
But why?
Once, when reflecting on the Michelangelo of tennis, Rafa Nadal, Mary Carillo asked, “Have you ever seen anyone who has the same sense of recognition of the rhythms of a clay court match?”
Well, maybe Alacraz is Picasso.
He has all the tools master clay craftsmen use: superb bursts and balance, sublime slides, defiant drop shots, a love of scramble points and clay-stained grit and endurance..
The first game of today’s final, that lasted 12 minutes, signaled the marathon that would come.Then after 36 minutes, Carlos broke. But, in a flash, Sinner showed his pedigree and broke right back, to even the first set 3-3. Deep into the set, Alcaraz needed to get drops in his eyes. Then he suffered one of his inexplicable walkabouts. His level dipped. Jannik, with his brilliant returns, won the first set 6-4 in 62 minutes.
The usually energetic Spaniard was out of sorts, almost lethargic. Sure, he was 11-1 in finals, but now his belief had vanished. There were no beaming grins, no gobsmacking shots that astounded. He shanked forehands. He lunged.
The Italian, who sported a green and white striped schoolboy outfit, displayed his textbook technique and schooled his foe. The lean, sinewy man, who has only lost twice since last August, was relentless.
Just as he had in the semis against Djokovic, Jannik made his iconic foe seem ordinary. His blasts were deep and heavy. He opened the court, his defense was seamless. Locked in and serving well, he was in total ascendence and took the first two sets – what a master class.
Tennis has long been packed with charismatic stars. But the impassive 23-year-old is not one of them. He’s a no-drama guy whose life has inexplicably become more than dramatic: a drug suspension, a prodigal son return to the Italian Open, and more face time with Pope Leo than any other celeb except Vice-President Vance. Now, seemingly, he was en route to a drama-free triumph.
But Alcaraz didn’t like the play. All was not lost. He reset, broke and grabbed the third set 6-4.
Sinner’s run of 31 Grand Slam set wins was
at last over. Match on!
Then, in the crucial seventh game of the fourth set, the sheer force of the hundreds of body blows Sinner had unleashed seemed to take their toll. Under excruciating pressure, Jannik broke and soon went up 5-3.
He had three championships already in hand – surely glory would be his today. Never before had anyone come back from such a deficit in a Slam final.
But Alcaraz said later, “The match is not finished until he makes the last point. I believe all the time. I had no doubt in myself. One point at a time.”
Sinner was tight, so close to his third straight Slam win. But the steely Italian wavered just slightly – too timid. He muffed his shots. Carlos blasted an ace and an astounding forehand to remain alive.
Alcaraz defied all logic. He broke the stunned Italian as he was serving for the title and evened the fourth set. In the front row, Andre Agassi shook his head in disbelief. The upper stands erupted, “Vamos! Vamos!” Soon the fourth set went to a tiebreak. Carlos came from behind to propel the match into a fifth set. TNT gushed, “Five hours, five sets, five stars.”
Alcaraz was in ascendance, his confidence surging. Broadcaster Robbie Koenig noted, “He has so much fire power and the freedom to express himself. He comes at you. It’s tennis poetry. He disrupts with pace, variety and his ability to come in. He’s got it all. A force of nature.”
In the semis, Carlos had worn down another Italian, Lorenzo Muzetti. Now his foe with ginger hair was walking gingerly, feeling the physical and mental pain. This was only Jannik’s second tournament back on tour since his suspension. He was 0-6 in matches that lasted longer than 3:48.
Alcaraz broke to open the fifth set. His daring drop shots teased, a wondrous backhand flick drew roars. There’s a rule: you can’t have an Alcaraz match without magic. He went up 5-4 and was serving for the title. John McEnroe said, “You can’t make this up.”
Broadcaster Markus Buckland joked the celeb specator Dustin Hoffman, “was 87 when this match began. Now he’s 90.”
The sun was setting and so were Sinner’s hopes. Certainly, he couldn’t do what his foe had done. But he sprinted on his weary legs to retrieve yet another drop shot and hit a drop shot of his own en route to scoring a shock break and then blasting two aces to force a final set tiebreak.
Carlos would confide, “Today there were a few moments that the level was insane. I felt, ‘What can I do?’ He couldn’t miss…This was the most exciting match I’ve played.”
But in just the third fifth-set tiebreak in Slam history, Sinner didn’t know what hit him. Carlos understood: “I had to go for it no matter if I was down, and not be afraid…It was all about belief.” He blasted explosive winners and unleashed backhands to the line. His clay court skills dazzled. Here was the perfect tie break. He raced to a 7-0 lead.
Then, after 5:29, from a far distant corner of the big court, the greatest clay court player of the day hit an astonishing running forehand to prevail 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in the greatest clay court championship this arena and this sport has ever seen.
It’s said that Carlos’ biggest weapon is his smile. Now the entire tennis universe outside of Italy was smiling. Yes, the Big Three will never be replaced – Rafa, Roger and Nole are immortals.
But on this momentous Parisian afternoon, the Big Two brought brilliance, resilience, will and winners to a stratospheric level, and proved convincingly that tennis is in the hands of an inspired new generation.
In the longest French Open ever and the second longest Slam in history, a tennis superman collected his fifth Slam at 22 at precisely the same age Rafa won his fifth major.
Reporters would soon compare the match to tennis’ other classics: Borg over McEnroe in 1980, Nadal over Federer in 2008, and the longest match in Slam history, Djokovic over Nadal in 2012.
One Radio Roland Garros listener captured the glorious moment: “This will go down in folklore and will be remembered as an epic of all time.”
Exactly.
