The dawn of a new era of men’s tennis has finally arrived, and in some style.
Carlos Alcaraz and Giannik Sinner have dominated the sport for two years, but they never met in the final of the Grand Slam, just as heavyweight boxers have dived into each other.
Roland Garos sets the stage, bringing stone-cold classics by the best players on the planet. Alcaraz saved three championship points before winning the longest final in France’s open history..
This is the first major final between two men born in this century, and based on this evidence there is much more.
“I’m not exaggerating to say that this was one of the biggest Grand Slam finals of all time.” Sky Sports Jonathan Overend. “It’s very difficult to judge, compare, contrast and line them up all the time, but in the opening days of the slam finals, this is in a very small collection of the best matches of all time.
“In 2013, against Wimbledon’s Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray needs to put the Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic Australia open final there for historic elements. [Roger] Federer 9-7 in the final set.
“Now I’m competing with the sinners and Alcarazs at Roland Garos in 2025. For many reasons, what I’m highlighting is the enormous quality of play in the second half of the game, which distinguished the Nadal Federer ’08 Finals.
“They’ll deliver these incredible exchanges in the dark. It was at 9pm on Wimbledon’s centre court that year, so I didn’t think I’d seen tennis play again again later in such a critical match.
“On Sunday, we did it! It’s on a level that matches ’08 and dare to say it, it improved ’08.
“Just elite tennis, taking it to new heights, the tiebreaker Alkaraz in the fifth set was close to perfect. It was an incredible match between two young guys, scaring you in terms of their potential.
“It makes me think about where we can go from here. If we conclude that the match is as good as Nadal with Federer at their peak, where can the sinner and Alcaraz take this rivalry?
“The fact that they share the last six Grand Slams and have this perfect record in the Grand Slam Finals before Sunday, I can see this happening many times over the next decade.
“They are going to move further in the ways Nadal, Djokovic and Federer have to do with each other.
“The sinners and Alkaraz will have to rule with their greatest rivals. [Djokovic] He is the greatest player ever. These two are already in that conversation. In terms of the excitement level of this rivalry, they peaked early in their careers, so the only way is rising from here, which is very exciting for the future of tennis. ”
Robson: It was the theatre
Former UK No. 1 Laura Robson has been obsessed with the final “theater” despite spending his time fulfilling his job commitment in his role as tournament director for the new Women’s WTA 500 event at Queen’s Club.
I’ll talk Sky Sportsshe said: “I was checking the scores throughout the day and I was thinking, ‘This is why there’s nothing better than live sports because it’s so unpredictable.’
“The Finals are impossible to compare the same way as trying not to compare different eras of sports because the game styles move and the equipment is different. Why would you want to compare the Vintage Federanadal Finals?
“When I was watching that fifth set, I was thinking about Djokovic Nadal’s final in Australia.
“As a sport, we are fortunate that after the ‘Big 3’ these two are pushing each other to new heights in sport. ”
Alcaraz coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, former world No. 1, spoke about his rivalry after the final, saying, “It’s amazing to have these players, this kind of rivalry, for the sport.
“I think we have to be very happy about it in tennis sports as these two guys are fighting for a big trophy. They know they have to play incredible tennis to beat other guys.”
Henman: One of the best matches I’ve ever seen
Tim Henman also rated the match as the best and right. TNT Sports: “When you get a head from the top two heads, it doesn’t always stand up to hype, but it’s one of the best matches I’ve ever seen.
“And having it in the Grand Slam final is something special. Save the thoughts for Janik Thinner. He played some great tennis and got me very close.”
Legendary John McEnroe claimed that Alcaraz and Thinner would beat 22 major winner Nadal at his peak. TNT Sports: “You’ll have serious arguments with both people that you’d prefer to defeat Nadal at its best.
“Do you think they’ve reached 20, 24 (titles)? Are there either? No, because that plateau is so difficult.
“But these two guys are like people who now look at the NBA and say they’re not better than Michael Jordan. The tennis levels right now are higher than I’ve ever seen.”
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