“They brought us a gift, that is what this match was. Alcaraz played well and took it from him. It was such a high level, there is so much for them to revel in.” Former ATP pro Jim Courier commented on the epic French Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner last week. Court Philippe-Chatrier witnessed a remarkable game of tennis as the World No.1 and World No.2 etched their names in history books with a 5-hour-29-minute marathon encounter. The high-octane, cliffhanger moments made for one of the best French Open Finals in history, and American ATP star Ben Shelton, despite his initial intentions, couldn’t miss it.
Alcaraz had his back against the wall. He had already lost the first two sets and trailed the Italian 5-3 in the fourth. But then, as the Spaniard himself said later in his press conference, “A lot of times people came back from match point down in final of a Grand Slam or even in other matches.” He wanted to be one of those players, and that is exactly what he did as he saved three championship points to pull of his greatest comeback ever. In the end, the score line read 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in favor of the 22-year-old. He had successfully managed to defend his French Open title.
Had the match been any less exciting, Ben Shelton probably wouldn’t have bothered to watch it. In an interaction with Tennis Channel, he made an honest confession regarding Alcaraz-Sinner’s epic encounter. He revealed, “I’m not really the guy who sits there and watches the tournament after I’m out you know. I’ll maybe watch a different sport or not watch anything at all.”
However, the unreal quality of tennis from both players really impressed Shelton. “For me I turned it on at 6-5 in the 5th and I was like ‘Let’s just see what this tiebreak is looking like’. And I knew there had been ups and downs. Sinner got tight and Alcaraz got tight serving for the match. And it kind of got to the point where these guys were playing a baseline game. The serve was a non-factor, they were putting the serve in the box and going to war. It was really entertaining, the points that they were having. Every point was crazy and for me it was the tiebreaker that was the most insane.”
He also specifically talked about Alcaraz’s exceptional performance. “Those first 6 or 7 points with Alcaraz, you go back and you watch those and you’re like ‘That’s some of the most clutch tennis I’ve seen at 6-all in the 5th in my life.’” Well, can’t argue with that.
Even ex-German pro Boris Becker has expressed utmost happiness on how the two athletes played at Court Philippe-Chatrier. In fact, the former icon was left speechless to the extent that he compared the modern stars to the ‘Big Three’.
Can there be any higher praise for Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
Former great Boris Becker, who was part of the TNT Sports’ panel during the French Open was baffled with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s unparalleled performances. According to him, the Spaniard and the Italian matched the level of greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
Reacting to the mind-boggling result, after Alcaraz pulled off an unbelievable victory, Becker said, “It’s brutal for Sinner. Losing a final with match points, served for the match. There’s nothing worse, but he can be proud of his performance.“
“He behaved like a champion, fought and played his best clay court match to date. That will happen again, maybe Jannik will be the luckier one next time. It was the same with Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. What epic duels they’ve had over 15 years, and that’s exactly the level I see Carlos and Jannik at.”
Becker concluded, “The match was unbelievable, I feel for both players. These are the matches you train for and why you love this sport.” Alcaraz and Sinner’s mind-boggling display of tennis shots also attracted millions of fans from around the world. Speaking of numbers, French outlet L’Equipe reported that the final amassed an average of 5.5 million viewers on France 2 and 3 TV channels. It’s the best figure for a men’s singles final at the Roland Garros since the 2011 clash between Federer and Nadal. Interestingly, the match also touched a peak figure of 9.5 million viewers during the last few moments before Alcaraz won the championship.
How was your experience watching Sinner-Alcaraz’s maiden French Open battle? Do you think it’s the best Grand Slam final to date? Let us know in the comments below.
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