Alcaraz Saves Three Championship Points To Miraculously Beat Sinner And Win Roland Garros

Carlos Alcaraz lifted his fifth Grand Slam title after beating Jannik Sinner in an epic Roland Garros final.

The two met in a long-awaited Grand Slam final. Prior to this meeting, Alcaraz and Sinner have met 11 times, but never in a major final. This time, they battled it out for a Grand Slam trophy, with one player sure to lose his perfect record in the major finals.

Early in the match, Alcaraz was clearly the better player, troubling his opponent in the first few games. The Spaniard created multiple break point chances, but he used only one of his seven break points in the first five games of the match.

He had a game point or a break point in all of the first five games, but after they were played, the defending champion led only 3-2. Still, having a one-break advantage was certainly a positive sign for Alcaraz, but that would be if he didn't lose it in the following game.

Up 4-3, Sinner had a chance to go into a one-break lead, but he didn't use his chance to break. However, the World No. 1 player didn't miss when he worked his way to another break point a couple of games later, winning the first set of the match 6-4.

If Alcaraz wanted to win his fifth major title, he had to increase his level in the second set, but he couldn't get ahead the same way he did in the first set. Sinner broke first, doing so already in his opponent's first service game.

Down 4-6 and 2-5, Alcaraz finally gave the fans in Paris what they came for, increasing his level to break back and later force a tie-break. But despite getting the second set to a tie-break, the Spanish player once again couldn't overcome his opponent. Sinner won the tie-break 7-4, coming one set away from winning his maiden Grand Slam title on a surface other than hard.

But as the defending champion, Alcaraz was determined to keep fighting. The crowd on the Court Philippe Chatrier was clearly supporting the Spaniard, as they didn't want the match to end after only three sets.

At first, the ATP World No. 2 player didn't give the fans what they asked for, as he was broken already in the first game of the third set. However, Alcaraz immediately broke back and added one more break to lead 4-1 in the third set.

The 22-year-old was sprinting towards his first set won in this French Open final, but serving for the set at 5-3, he felt the pressure. Alcaraz lost his serve, and despite still leading 5-4, he didn't have the one-break advantage anymore.

Alcaraz was determined not to let that bother him, though. He broke Sinner's serve to love to win the third set 6-4, forcing at least four sets in the 2025 Roland Garros final.

As the time continued ticking, the Spaniard was more and more favored to win. Sinner has never won a match that lasted more than three hours and 48 minutes, losing all six of those that he played.

This time, however, the Italian player broke Alcaraz's serve and, leading 5-3, he even had three championship points on the Spaniard's serve. Heroically, Alcaraz saved all three and won the game with a beautiful forehand winner.

But Sinner still had a one-break advantage, and he served for the title up 5-4. Coincidentally, the clock showed three hours and 48 minutes just as he began to serve for the match.

With the crowd in Paris fired up, Alcaraz wanted to make sure to extend Sinner's streak of long matches lost, and he managed to make an important step towards that. The Spaniard broke his opponent's serve, leveling the score at 5-5.

The fourth set had to be decided in a tie-break, which Sinner started better, leading 2-0. Alcaraz then recovered one of the mini-breaks and served back-to-back aces to lead 3-2. He then continued playing exceptionally to win the fourth set 7-3 in a tie-break, forcing a decider.

Starting its fifth hour, this Roland Garros final certainly delivered, and there was still one more set of tennis left to be played. The momentum was clearly on Alcaraz's side, even more so as Sinner appeared to be physically struggling.

Both of those things were confirmed already in the first game of the fifth set, with Alcaraz breaking Sinner's serve, leading in this match for the first time since he was up 3-2 in the first set of the match.

That one-break advantage, however, was not enough for Alcaraz to win this match. Serving for it, the Spaniard felt all the pressure, and Sinner used it to his advantage to break back, and at 5-5, it was game on again.

Despite losing that one-break advantage in the final set, Alcaraz was able to play better again and complete the first comeback from 0-2 in his tennis career. Alcaraz beat Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) to lift his fifth Grand Slam title and second at Roland Garros.