Jannik Sinner lost out to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final in dramatic fashion, having once had three championship points.
Sinner will take a few days off after the five-set thriller at Roland Garros, which ended 4-6, 6-7(4-7), 6-4, 7-6(7-3), 7-6(10-2) in favour of Alcaraz.
ATP Tour number one Sinner enjoyed the French Open final atmosphere against his rival, who successfully defended his title.
Alcaraz now has two French Open titles and five Grand Slam titles to his name, with Sinner remaining on zero and three respectively.
The pair battled it out for almost five-and-a-half hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier, in what was their first Grand Slam final meeting.
Jannik Sinner receives message from Simone Vagnozzi after French Open final loss
Rafael Nadal congratulated Sinner on his battle with Alcaraz, with the Italian’s coach Simone Vagnozzi now sending a message to the world number one.
Vagnozzi wrote in Italian on Instagram: “It hurts. But these are the matches that shape you, that define who you are.
“Those who experience you every day know what is behind every shot, every sprint, every jump, every punch: total dedication.
“Yesterday you showed the world not only your tennis, but also a heart and a resilience of a number one. The country is proud of you, and I am even more so.
“Being at your side is not only an honour, but a responsibility that I carry with pride. This historic match will make you even stronger. Thank you Jannik Sinner. Congratulations to Carlos Alcaraz and to his entire team.”
Patrick McEnroe reacts to Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz French Open final
Vagnozzi congratulating Alcaraz was a nice touch, with the teams of the two players undoubtedly enjoying a mutual respect.
Such respect was also on show on the court, even with the stakes so high in front of a raucous crowd in Paris.
The French Open fans were unsurprisingly thrilled by what unfolded in front of their eyes, with the final certain to go down as one of the greatest tennis matches ever.
That is certainly the view of former player Patrick McEnroe, brother of John McEnroe, who said in a video from Philippe-Chatrier on X: “Good morning, everyone. This is something I’ve never done, but I felt I needed to pay respects to this court, to those two athletes, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, for putting on an absolute show.
“And this is literally the calm after a storm of shot-making guts, grits, athleticism that this tennis court has never, ever seen before.
“I was lucky enough to be here, I’m lucky enough to be here right now, Monday morning. As you can see, not a soul around, clean up is starting, and we’ve only just started to appreciate what we saw on this court.
“The greatest match ever played on this court, and one of the greatest matches of all time ever played. Respect and thanks and gratefulness to Sinner and Alcaraz for putting on a show.
I’m literally mesmerised as I look at this court, thinking about what they did on it yesterday. Hope you enjoyed it.”
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