Alcaraz survives 3 match points to beat Sinner in longest French Open final ever

By JEROME PUGMIRE PARIS AP Carlos Alcaraz rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat Jannik Sinner - - - - - - on Sunday and win the French Open title for a second straight year Alcaraz who won his fifth Grand Slam tournament in as multiple finals produced one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the clay-court tournament It was even better than his performance in last year s final when he came back from - down to beat Alexander Zverev But this time Alcaraz emulated Novak Djokovic s feat from the final at Roland-Garros when the now -time major winner fought back from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas I m just proud I m just really really happy Alcaraz announced before praising Sinner I know how hard you are chasing this tournament You re going to be champion not once but a large number of a multitude of times It s a privilege to share the court with you in every tournament making this story with you It was the first time that Sinner had lost a Grand Slam final but the fifth time in succession he has now lost to Alcaraz who clinched the th title of his career at the age of Unending drama It was also the longest-ever French Open final hours minutes in the Open Era It was so tight that Sinner won points Alcaraz It might not have been close to those numbers For after hours minutes Sinner had his first match point But with just over five hours since the match began Alcaraz served for the title at - up The drama was still not over Sinner made a remarkable retrieve from yet another superb Alcaraz drop shot At the very limit he could stretch to Sinner glided the ball over the net with the ball landing with the softness of an autumn leaf and out of Alcaraz s reach to make it - When Sinner won the encounter to make it - it was his turn to milk the applause and he was two points away from mastery in the th contest with Alcaraz on serve and at - and at deuce But Alcaraz made a staggering cross-court backhand to make it - and force a tiebreaker with the crowd going wild when Alcaraz s cross-court winner made it - Little sleep for Sinner Sinner could not find a way back and Alcaraz won the tiebreaker and the match with a superb forehand pass down the line and then fell onto his back to celebrate Then he rushed over to dance and hug the association members in his box I m very happy for you and you deserve it so congrats the -year-old Sinner reported Alcaraz It s an amazing trophy so I won t sleep tonight very well but it s OK Spain s Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the trophy after winning the final match of the French Tennis Open against Italy s Jannik Sinner at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris Sunday June AP Photo Lindsey Wasson Nightmare ninth Sinner may not sleep at all if he thinks about the ninth championship of the fourth set which turned into a nightmare Serving to stay in the match at - down Alcaraz trailed - to give Sinner three match points Sinner may particularly regret the second match point when with Alcaraz on second serve he hit a hurried backhand which landed just out He then hit a forehand into the net for another unforced error making it deuce The crowd chanted Carlos Carlos in delight and roared when Alcaraz hit an ace then gave him a standing ovation when his audacious forehand down the line went in to win that event and again when he broke Sinner s serve to level at - Sinner s sportsmanship Despite having just lost a chance to win another major Sinner proved great sportsmanship to give Alcaraz the point for a - lead in the th match Alcaraz s forehand landed at the back of the court and as the chair umpire prepared to come down and inspect the mark Sinner stated her to go back because he saw the ball was in The crowd applauded him for that but was clearly rooting for Alcaraz and the noise level erupted when Alcaraz won the fourth-set tiebreaker to level the match By now the fans had what they yearned an Alcaraz comeback and fans indicated their unbridled delight when he won points with astounding drop shots from deep or leapt to bang cross-court forehands with astonishing power and accuracy Alcaraz hit winners compared to for Sinner who might have been feeling like it was a occurrence of d j vu Alcaraz beat Sinner in the French Open semifinals last year coming back from - down in sets He beat Sinner last month in the Italian Open final the tournament where Sinner returned from his doping ban Perhaps Alcaraz was even the favorite considering he owns the best record on clay this year which is now - and that Sinner had never played in the final at Roland-Garros before Spain s Carlos Alcaraz hugs Italy s Jannik Sinner after winning the final match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros in Paris Sunday June AP Photo Aurelien Morissard Celebrities watch a classic final Related Articles French Open Sinner beats Djokovic to set up final against defending champion Alcaraz No Coco Gauff dominates Boisson advances to French Open final against No Aryna Sabalenka French Open Coco Gauff faces a Frenchwoman ranked st in the semifinals Djokovic Sinner win Kristen Kish Serena Williams to star at BottleRock s culinary stage DA declines to charge East Bay tennis coach in sex abuse probe On a warm day with a light breeze caressing Court Philippe-Chatrier big names turned out Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman movie director Spike Lee singer Pharrell Williams Formula driver George Russell and world rugby star Antoine Dupont watched what promised to be a tight contest perhaps a classic between the world s two best-ranked players No -ranked Sinner seemed on the way to supremacy but No -ranked Alcaraz fought back After clinching the third set with a volley at the net he stood in the middle of the court shaking his fist in celebration One of the greatest finals in French Open history was just getting started - AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin contributed