Carlos Alcaraz has defended his French Open title by beating Jannik Sinner from two sets to love behind on one of the greatest matches the tournament has ever seen.
Think Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal, this had everything that those two used to serve up and then some more.
Sinner was two sets to love to the good and cruising at Roland Garros, but much like his compatriot, Nadal, Alcaraz just simply doesn’t know when he’s beaten.
The 22-year-old showed maturity way beyond his years with this performance and managed to dig deep to take the game to five sets and win it on a super tie-break.
Tim Henman shares one area where Carlos Alcaraz is better than Jannik Sinner
This was the first time that the two players had met in a Grand Slam final, and a match between the best two players in the world lived up to the pre-match billing.
Alcaraz won on this occasion, but these two are going to beat each other time and time again, forging a brilliant rivalry in the years to come.
Henman believes that right now, Alcaraz has one thing on his side that simply gives him the edge over Sinner out on the court.
He told TNT Sports: “There have been some question marks over dips in concentration, but it was Sinner’s quality play in those first two sets.
“It was the resilience and belief that Alcaraz could turn it around, and I also think athletic ability. The way he moves on a clay court is so good.
“I think that is an area where he has a little bit of an edge against Sinner, but I think it was very sad that there had to be a loser today because they both put in incredible performances.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will dominate for years to come
You have to go back to the US Open in 2023 when Novak Djokovic took home the title, to find a Grand Slam that wasn’t won by either Alcaraz or Sinner.
Whichever way people want to try and deny it, this is a rivalry that is here to stay, and it’s hard to imagine the gap between the top two players in the world not getting bigger.
Sinner and Alcaraz have looked pretty invincible in the run-up to the final, but in the showpiece match, the pair kicked proverbial lumps out of each other.
Henman is probably right when he says that Alcaraz probably does just have the edge over Sinner at the moment and it will be fascinating to see how the world number one dusts himself off for Wimbledon now.
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