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French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz says he will “let the people decide” if his comeback victory against Jannik Sinner is one of the greatest matches of all time.
Spain’s Alcaraz saved three championship points in the fourth set before securing a 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-2) win after five hours and 29 minutes.
The 22-year-old had never previously come back from two sets down at a major.
The quality, tension and excitement of the contest between a standout pair who are creating an absorbing rivalry has led to comparisons with other classic encounters in the sport.
“If people put our match in that [bracket], it’s a huge honour for me,” said five-time major champion Alcaraz.
“I don’t know if it is at the same level as those matches. I let the people talk about whether they are almost the same.
“I’m just happy to put our match and our names in the history of the Grand Slams and in the history of Roland Garros.
World number one Sinner has been the dominant player on the ATP Tour over the past 18 months, opening up a commanding lead at the top of the rankings.
The Italian had not lost from two sets up since Novak Djokovic beat him in the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Sinner led 5-3 in the fourth set and had three championship points on Alcaraz’s serve, but the Spaniard never lost belief.
Alcaraz, who has now won back-to-back titles at Roland Garros, says he was “not thinking about” the score as he fought back from the brink.
“I just put my heart into it,” said Alcaraz.
“I tried to keep going, not thinking about the result and just to put up my best tennis.
Sinner ‘won’t keep crying’ after defeat
Sinner was aiming for a third successive Grand Slam triumph, having won the US Open at the end of last year and then defended his Australian Open title in January.
The 23-year-old’s level over the past fortnight – he arrived in the final having not dropped a set – was even more impressive considering he is still in the early stages of his comeback.
Sinner served a three-month ban from February to May for failing two doping tests last year and only played one tournament before Roland Garros.
“My level has improved since Rome. As I said before the match, my main goal was to see where it is at,” he said.
“Only making [the] final is difficult to accept now but this is the good part of the sport. Today I also had the sad part.
“But if you watch only the sad part, you’re never going to come back.
“I believe I have improved as a player since last year. We try to keep pushing.”
He plans to get over the defeat by spending time with his family before turning his attentions to the grass-court season.
His mother Siglinde was sat on Court Philippe Chatrier but could barely watch at times, while father Johann, a chef, was unable to attend because he was working.
“We are just a very simple family. Nothing of our success changes in the family,” Sinner added.
“It was nice to see my mum here. I guess my dad was watching on TV – if he finished work.
“As I always said before my career started, I never would have thought to find myself in this position.
“It was not even a dream because it was so far and was not thinking about this.
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