Alcaraz wins French Open epic

AFP | Paris

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Carlos Alcaraz saved three championship points as he produced an astonishing fightback from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in a French Open final for the ages yesterday.

Reigning champion Alcaraz rallied from the brink of defeat to overcome world number one Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (10/2) to clinch his fifth Grand Slam title after five hours and 29 minutes.

The 22-year-old Spaniard is now unbeaten in five Grand Slam finals after snapping Sinner’s 20-match winning run at the majors.

Alcaraz pulled off his first ever comeback from two sets down to stun Sinner in the longest Roland Garros final in history. It easily eclipsed the 1982 final in Paris when Mats Wilander triumphed in four sets over Guillermo Vilas in 4hr 42min.

Alcaraz becomes the third youngest man to win five Grand Slams -- after Bjorn Borg and compatriot Rafael Nadal -- following an incredible duel be - tween the two stars of a new generation.

Sinner fell agonisingly short of a third successive Grand Slam crown after last year’s US Open title and back-to-back Australian Open triumphs.

He suffered his fifth straight loss to Alcaraz in what was their first meeting in a Grand Slam final -- and the first championship match at a major between two m e n born i n the 2000s.

Alcaraz leads 8-5 overall having also beaten Sinner to win in Rome, where the Italian returned to competition in May after a three-month doping ban.

Alcaraz put the pressure on Sinner by carving out three break points to start Saturday’s final, but the Italian resisted and soon had a chance of his own.

He couldn’t take advantage and found himself having to fend off two more break points at 1-1, producing clutch serves to grind out another tough hold.

Alcaraz’s persistence paid off in the fifth game when he broke to nudge 3-2 ahead, only for the Spaniard to immediately hand the lead back.

The unshakeable Sinner threatened to break again at 4-3, with a brief lapse from Alcaraz eventually enabling Sinner to snatch the first set.

Sinner hit the accelerator to start the second set, surging 3-0 in front. After facing seven break points in the opener, he tightened up considerably on serve.

But Alcaraz brought up his first break point of the second set with Sinner serving for a two-set lead, duly pouncing on the opportunity to check his rival’s momentum.

With the swagger back in his step at a crucial juncture, Alcaraz sought to bring the crowd into the contest but Sinner remained unflustered in the tiebreak.

The first five points went with serve before Sinner whipped a forehand down the line and Alcaraz then steered an attempted drop-shot wide.