Carlos Alcaraz set a record as he backed up his French Open title, defeating Jannik Sinner in the longest Paris final ever played on Sunday, an epic lasting for nearly five and a half hours.
The Spaniard claimed the fifth Grand Slam title of his fast-moving career, beating world No. 1 Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) for a fifth consecutive time in 5.29.
The previous longest final here came in 1982, when Mats Wilander beat Guillermo Vilas in 4:42.
The showpiece ended the Grand Slam win streak of Sinner, who has lifted trophies at the US and Australian Opens over the past eight months months.
Alcaraz saved three match points in the ninth game of the fourth set, holding serve at 3-5, 0-40 to keep his comeback alive.
Sinner has not beaten his biggest rival since 2023; the pair were playing here for the first time in a Grand Slam final.
The match was drama-filled, with Acaraz fighting back from two sets to love down for the first time in his career.
He served for victory deep into the fifth set, only to be denied by an opponent who was beginning to show some wear and tear in his legs as the final dragged on.
But Sinner rallied, breaking for 5-all as the contest continued before Alcaraz finally dominated from a 7-0 lead in the best-of-10 super tiebreaker used in the fifth sets in Paris.
“It’s amazing to make history on this court with you, Jannik,” Alcaraz said after receiving his trophy from former great Andre Agassi.
“I’m sure you will be champion many, many times. You are a huge inspiration for everyone.
“This tournament is really special for me, I can’t wait to come back year after year. Paris will always be in my heart.”
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 .Sinner did well to contain his disappointment after losing the struggle.
“Congrats to Carlos for an amazing performance, amazing everything,” the Italian said.
“It’s easier to play than to talk right now, but thanks to my team who put me in this position.
“We tried our best today, we gave everything that we had. It’s very difficult now, but it’s OK. I probably won’t sleep very well tonight.
Alcaraz earned an ATP-leading 37th win of the season and now leads Sinner 8-4 in their series and stands 5-0 in Grand Slam finals..
The 62-minute opening set got off to an agonisingly slow start, with the first game lasting 12 minutes with five deuces.
It took another seven minutes to complete a second game as the tight contest stayed on serve.
Sinner nosed ahead after the pair traded back-to-back breaks of serve.
“He then broke Alcaraz in the final game, 6-4 as the Spaniard’s return clipped the net and flew wide.
The Italian picked up the pace to start the second set, breaking Alcaraz again for 3-0 and running out a 4-1 margin.
But an Alcaraz fightback narrowed the gap, with Sinner broken for 5-4 as he served for the set before it went to a tiebreaker.
As Roland Garros famously said “Victory belongs to the most tenacious” Alcaraz certainly did that – photo by Roger Parker
The top seed earned four set points and converted on his with a winner out wide.
Sinner began the third set with a break but lost it a game later as Alcaraz began to rally, eventually handing Sinner his only set loss of the tournament. after three hours of play.
The Italian looked to have victory in hand after a break in the fourth set and three match points as he served for it, 5-4.
But Alcaraz pulled off a great escape with a break in the 10h game before winning the tiebreaker to bring on a deciding fifth set after nearly four and a quarter hours of battle.
Main photo:- Carlos Alcaraz with Coupe des Mousquetaires – by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos
