Key events
*Sinner 6-4 5-2 Alcaraz Alcaraz returns to his mark, racket aloft – noising up the crowd but probably hoping they return the favour. And have a look! An inside-out backhand down the line exploits the news balls for 0-15, then Sinner does everything bar win the point for 30-15, instead carefully placing his volley wide – an oversight noteworthy for the rarity of it. This could well be the set right here and, as I type, a horrendous return from Alcaraz donates Sinner 30-all. A return into the net follows, then a forehand looped long, and the world no 1 is a game away from a two-set lead. The champ needs something and quickly.
Sinner 6-4 4-2 Alcaraz* So why is Sinner controlling the match? Other than playing the big points better, he’s returning superbly and managing to play the majority of balls from the baseline, moving side to side; he’s not being sent out of court or hauled to the net very often. Will Alcaraz change anything? Er, he sees 30-0 turn into 30-all then, after struggling with another tremendous return, Sinner’s backhand into the net offers blessed relief … but only for as long as it takes him to dispense a double for deuce. Scary hours for the champ, but he secures the hold with the kind of drop he needs to play more often. He’s still in this second set.
*Sinner 6-4 4-1 Alcaraz At 30-0, a Sinner error invites Alcaraz into the game, but he then nets a running forehand – an error we might call unforced, but might also ascribe to the relentless pressure exerted by the world no 1. In making the final, Alcaraz has been several clicks short of his best enough to beat everyone but his opponent today. Sinner holds to 30, and for the third major final in a row, things are proceeding exactly as he intended them to.
“I applaud you for calling out the awful sartorial choice of a collared shirt for tennis,” says Simon Hoer. “Could we also discuss function, please? Was it Nadal who spent most of his prep time during serves tucking the shoulder of his shirt until it was halfway comfortable? Why not wear a vest for a sport that requires a lot of freedom of movement in the shoulder area?”
Exhibit A:
Sinner 6-4 3-1 Alcaraz* The way Sinner’s playing, coming back from two sets down against him feels like solving a tangram on a treadmill, blindfolded. Alcaraz needs to get more balls breaking sidelines, I think, rather than seek corners; a frustrated forehand, brutalised flat, makes him 15-0 while also illustrating his state of mind. From there, we move to 40-15, then a backhand return skips up beyond his stretch and suddenly there’s pressure … but not for log, a serve out wide tidied at net. That’s Alcaraz’s first game in six.
*Sinner 6-4 3-0 Alcaraz Up 30-0, Sinner goes long, but then plays a terrific next point, his backhand dominating before a sensational surprise-forehand down the line irrevocably seizes command of the rally, eventually ended with a backhand volley. Another forehand then changes the temperature of the next point, Sinner takes that one too, and this is morphing from thriller into masterclass.
Sinner 6-4 2-0 Alcaraz* Alcaraz is having a down moment, erring at 15-30 to face two break points. And a fine return, delivered on the stretch and into a nasty area by the ankles, asks the question, then a forehand clobbered long means Sinner is now in control of this match. The champ has tamely surrendered the big points and if the Italian can keep it tight, it’ll take something significant to stop him, the way he’s playing.
“What are examples of shirts you like?” returns Michael Meagher; why, I thought you’d never ask.
*Sinner 6-4 1-0 Alcaraz I said earlier on I felt Sinner had to win from the front and here he is, the way Alcaraz tossed the key game not entirely explicable – rather than crumble under pressure, he played it as if there was none. He does, though, make 30-all, then calls the umpire to check a serve he thinks is out – he’s right – but unable to collar the second delivery, he’s soon chuntering to himself before buggy-whipping a forehand down the line which helps him get to deuce. An ace, though, wins Sinner advantage and a service-winner secures an important hold. So far, it’s the world no 1 playing the big points better.
Jannik Sinner wins the first set 6-4
Sinner 6-4 Alcaraz* There’s a pause as Alcaraz has dust in his eye, then two loose shots means we wind up at 30-all … and a backhand is sent wide; set point Sinner! And have a look! The champ thwacks another backhand, this time into the tape, the ball leaps up and flies wide! The first set goes to the world no 1, whose consistency makes the difference in the end.
“What’s wrong with their shirts?” wonders Michael Meagher. It is, of course, a matter of opinion, but Sinner looks like Luigi, Alcaraz like a cartoon convict.
*Sinner 5-4 Alcaraz Sinner disguises a shot to the backhand corner, coming in to despatch a volley for 40-15; a big serve and clean-up backhand means Alcaraz must now hold to stay in an epic first set. Pressure!
Otherwise, Odell Beckham Jr is in the crowd; any excuse.
Sinner 4-4 Alcaraz* Sinner has treatment for a blister on his foot then we get back going and he swats a forehand wide; a double restores parity, and eventually we reach 30-40, Alcaraz clouting a service-winner down the T for deuce. A leaping inside-out forehand then makes advantage, then a wrong-footer breaks the sideline to seal a colossal hold. Almost every game is a battle though, amid all my rhapsodising, the abomination that is these rig-outs must not be ignored. I can’t for the life of me understand how this came to pass.
*Sinner 4-3 Alcaraz That feeling of repeatedly commanding yourself to savour something while it’s still happening; this is that. Sinner holds to love, and I’ve just noticed my face is about a foot closer to my screen than usual. I’m tingling.
Sinner 3-3 Alcaraz* Sinner quickly makes 0-30 and will know that on Friday, Alcaraz was twice broken immediately after breaking. This time, though, that forehand, so far the match’s deadliest shot, gives him 15, a drop levelling the game. A mahoosive serve out wide follows, so he follows in behind it only for a ludicrous return to trim his tootsies and stymie his volley; break-back point … quickly converted thanks to another useful return, Alcaraz directing a backhand into the net. I love this match already.
*Sinner 2-3 Alcaraz Our players fight to 30-all, intensity stratospheric and quality just behind. Alcaraz then whips a forehand return on to the line, backs it up with two more brutes, and when a lob drops wide, he raises another break point, his sixth. Again, the champ looks the better player so far, but again Sinner finds what he needs, eventually leaping to annihilate a forehand winner down the line so terrifyingly hard I moved out of its way. Alcaraz, though, has a forehand of his own, nailing two for advantage, and this time, an error means he forges in front for the first time!
Sinner 2-2 Alcaraz* I said in the preamble that sport often promises much and delivers less, but it feels impossible for this match to be anything other than gloriously affirming. Meantime, Alcaraz hooks a forehand wide after good work on the backhand from Sinner, then unexpectedly nets a volley; trouble. Not for long, though: we’re soon at 30-all, whereupon the champ creams a backhand winner down the line and we cut immediately to Martina enjoying the brilliance, from the sublime to the sublime. It’s so great to see her in good health, likewise the treat of her in Real Housewives of Miami. Alcaraz closes out, and this is tighter than tefillin.
Sinner 2-1 Alcaraz* We’re settling into as pattern: the rallies are longish and, so far, tending to be settled by errors not winners. But at 15-all, Alcaraz nails a flat return hammered cross, and though he’s made to play two extra shots, he collars both with as much prejudice as you’d expect … then cracks a backhand down the line to the corner, facilitating the drop before putting away a simple volley. He’s started the better and here come two breaking opportunities. The first is saved, as might’ve been expected, with a booming first serve, the next with a frankly indecent second, arrowed down the T; the confidence to hit it that way tells us plenty about Sinner’s mentality and confidence. A backhand winner then raises advantage before a serve/swing-volley combo-move seals the hold. Already, this is fantastic stuff, every point an occasion.
Sinner 1-1 Alcaraz* Alcaraz fails to put away all he should, allowing Sinner 15-0, , but the retort is swift and we’re soon at 30-all, swapping unforced errors. Alcaarz then nets a backhand, ceding break point in the process; a big serve redeems it and off we go to deuce once more, the task of splitting these two almost beyond the scoring system. Fro there, though, Alcaraz closes out and both men are settling
*Sinner 1-0 Alcaraz (*denotes server) A long rally which Alcaraz wins when Sinner nets, but he then directs a forehand cross into the tape; 15-all. Alcaraz, though, then gets his forehand going, making 15-30, only to then overhit; we wind up at deuce, Sinner saving a break point at 30-40. But up advantage, Sinner slams a forehand into the net, then at deuce swipes a back wide; break point Alcaraz, who steps well into court when there’s a second serve en route. It does him no good, but he soon works another opportunity, stepping inside the baseline and thwacking away with forehands until he makes advantage. Sinner, though, does not panic, lanking in to retrieve a tame drop before flipping a backhand winner down the line; if ever a game augured well, this is it, and eventually Sinner hangs on.
Ready … play.
Alcaraz wins the toss; he elects to receive.
And here they come!
Each player wears a dreadful Nike collared shirt. No need for it, no need for it at all.
“I am going for an Alcaraz win because it’s in the stars,” says Prakhar Gupta. “Nadal was 22 years one month and three days old when he won his fifth Grand Slam and so is Alcaraz today. I mean what could be more prophetic!!”
Also going on…
It’s going to be cinematic.
We seem to be running a little behind, but we’ll be welcoming our players soon. It’s a little windy and the roof is open; that should favour Alcaraz, as a still atmosphere helps the cleaner, straighter hitter.
I wonder where Alcaraz will stand today. Against Musetti, he was looking to get into court, and he might feel taking the ball early gives him the best chance of breaking even if some service-games pass him by. Or he may slide back a little for a better look.
Sinner reckons Alcaraz is the favourite, but notes he’s improving on clay. He’s moving better and more confident and knows that if he serves well he’s very difficult to beat. If he can get his line forehand going too, he’s almost unbeatable.
“Wondering how the doubles have gone in Paris,” begins Andrew Benton. “The dear old doubles always seems to get scant coverage, but games are so nice to watch.”
I couldn’t agree more. I had the privilege of interviewing Henry Patten a few weeks ago, and that was one of the things he expounded upon.
Henry and Harri went out on the quarters this time – the title went to Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos – while Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani won the women’s with Errani and Andrea Vavassori taking the mixed.
“Alcaraz has won every slam final he has played in,” writes Peter Slessenger. Federer won his first seven slam finals. That is quite some target to aim at. Looking forward to the match and hoping for that smile!”
Sinner has too, but both times on hards, whereas Alcaraz’s three have come on the slippier surfaces, clay and grass. He’s the better mover, as we said before, but he doesn’t hit as powerfully or as cleanly, so he’ll need to work angles to prevent the Italian planting his feet and sitting down on his shots.
If we go deep, Alcaraz will be favourite – he’s 12-1 over five-setters, whereas Sinner is 6-9. More than that, though, Sinner is the slight underdog, yet to win this competition so not certain he can. That makes him less likely to come from behind, though of course it wouldn’t be all that surprising if he did because he’s capable of almost anything.
Email from yesterday, via Joel Smith: “I am so disappointed, and frankly angry, at Sabalenka’s extremely ungracious runner up speech at Roland Garros!! So disrespectful to Coco and the occasion.
This is on the heels of Sabalenka smashing her racquets at the Aussie Open after losing to Madison Keys, which was totally unacceptable. Imagine if Serena or Coco behaved this poorly, they’d be castigated as a sore loser so, I hope the press and tennis community doesn’t give Sabalenka a free pass!
Sabalenka acting like she was entitled to this title is so unbecoming and although I like her personality, she about to lose me as a supporter. How dare she ran on this classy young lady’s win.”
I dunno. I know what you mean but I appreciated her honesty – when I watch sport, I want a window into people’s souls a lot more than I want anodyne platitudes. Sabalenka was hurting bad and she told us why and how she planned to handle it; I must prefer that to a taking the positives glib-fest, much as I love and respect Gauff.
TNT have Mac and Chrissy in the studio. You know what? Loz the match, let’s just listen to those two talk tennis for the rest of the afternoon. I’m the right age for this, but imagine being that gifted with a racket in hand, and also this funny, kind, insightful and charismatic.
It’s hard to argue with that isn’t it? And yet I’d still like to have seen better performances from Alcaraz over the fortnight, who was in trouble against Musetti for the best part of two sets. He plays like that today, it’s not close … and yet he’s so good at hitting whatever level he requires to win. Moreover, his win in Rome came in Sinner’s first match tournament back after his drug ban; he’s fitter, sharper and more confident now. Oh man, what a contest we’re in for.
I know we don’t know who’s going to win but … who’s going to win? I’ve been leaning Sinner because his game has the fewer moving parts and he’s in the better form. But Coach Calv, our resident expert, knows plenty more than me ands is backing Alcaraz: “He’s won their last four meetings, won on this court last year, and has a bit more to his game: he moves better, volleys better, and has more change-up – drops, slices,. angles. The game could do with Sinner winning probably, can’t have a rivalry if it’s totally one-sided, though I guess people still talk about Keane-Vieira as a rivalry, even though it wasn’t.”
Preamble
Salut et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2025 – 15e jour!
We’re all friends here so we can be honest with one another: our lives are predictable, the days passing slowly and the years zipping by in a sapping imposition of the almost-same. The world, so full of fantasy and wonder, so much of it inaccessible to us other than on special occasions.
Which is one place sport comes in. It isn’t always good, far from it, but it sustains us with the prospect of something good; the sense that we don’t know what’s going to happen.
Yet our last two weeks have been building to the inevitability of now. When the men’s tournament started two weeks ago, it felt almost impossible that the final would be between anyone other than Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and that’s exactly what’s happened, Sinner reaching this stage without losing a set and Alcaraz also domineering.
But this is where that ends. We can reason for ourselves which of these two future greats is likely yo be celebrating later on, but we cannot know: these are two supreme and supremely well-matched tennisers. Sinner has the edge in consistency and mentality, Alcaraz in mobility and creativity; Sinner has the higher modal level, Alcaraz the higher top level; Sinner hasn’t lost in 20 grand slam matches and has won 47 of his last 49 matches, but his two defeats came against Alcaraz, the defending champion, who beat him handily on clay just three weeks ago.
Nor is today solely about today. Though this is the pair’s first grand slam final meeting, even now, it seems inconceivable they won’t beat the record of nine heads-to-head held by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Which is to say we are not just about to enjoy something of guaranteed quality, but the start of one of the great sporting rivalries, there to enrich our lacking lives for the next decade and more.
And in making it about ourselves, we can of course do more than just enjoy it, its protagonists believable archetypes and unique presences in whom we can easily see our reflections. Are we reliable, calm and introverted like Sinner, excitable and improvisational gamblers like Alcaraz … or does one represent how we see ourselves, the other how we’d like to see ourselves?
They are here, we are here, everything is here; this is going to be epochal. On y va!
Play: 3pm local, 2pm BST.
