The greatest Grand Slam final ever? Memories of the 2025 French Open epic between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
Published 11/05/2026 at 13:29 GMT+1
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The 2025 French Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner was an all-time classic.
Highlights: Alcaraz overpowers Sinner in classic Roland-Garros final
Video credit: TNT Sports
Sinner looked on the cusp of winning his first Roland-Garros title when he won the opening two sets, and then again when he had three championship points in the fourth set.
But Alcaraz remained defiant and denied Sinner as he won 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(2) after five hours and 29 minutes.
It was one of the greatest Grand Slam finals in the history of the sport.
Tennis
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an hour ago
A year on, TNT Sports spoke to some of those there on the day at Roland-Garros for a documentary called ‘The New Dawn of Tennis’, which will be shown on TNT Sports 1 on May 17 at 17:30 UK time.
TNT Sports experts Alex Corretja, John McEnroe, Justine Henin and Jim Courier - along with tournament director Amelie Mauresmo - recalled their memories of the thrilling five-set epic.
What do you remember about the day?
Corretja: ”I think it was the most intense Grand Slam final I’ve ever experienced as a commentator - the fastest, the strangest, because of how everything unfolded. What comes to mind are nerves, intensity and a lot of emotion. Something truly unforgettable and extremely difficult to repeat.”
Courier: ”Memorable is the first word that comes to mind. It immediately jumped into the top five or six major finals that I've been lucky enough to watch in my lifetime. Bjorn Borg v McEnroe in 1980 was the one that really hooked me, line and sinker, into the sport. One of the reasons I wanted to be a professional tennis player was seeing moments like that. And I can only imagine there are going to be, in about 10 to 15 years' time, a whole slew of kids who show up on tour talking about this match.”
McEnroe: ”The match points. That changed everything when Carlos saved the match points on his serve in the fourth set. As soon as he got out of that game, I started thinking maybe this could completely turn around. And it did. And then it became epic. It's going to go down in history as one of the all-timers because of that last hour or two.”
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'What a point!' - Alcaraz breaks Sinner again with electrifying play in final
Video credit: TNT Sports
Wilander: ”The quality of the match was the highest quality that I've ever seen in tennis, especially since it was on clay, and on clay it's a little bit harder to play perfect tennis. But this was basically the perfect tennis match in every sense, score-wise and level-wise, and then the drama at the end.”
Mauresmo: ”I think the first image that comes to mind is their embrace. The embrace between the two players, because they delivered an exceptional battle. Beyond the moment of victory for Carlos, since it takes two to create a five-hour and 30-minute match, that’s what I remember. We've watched a lot of footage in preparation for this 2026 edition, and these are the moments that stand out.”
Did it feel special ahead of the match?
Corretja: ”It felt like, ‘today could be a great day’, because both of them were in fantastic form - even though Sinner came in after a long time without competing.
"That Rome final [a fortnight earlier in Sinner’s first tournament back following a three-month doping ban] between Sinner and Alcaraz had been kind of a reference point. Sinner had reached that final almost miraculously after three months off, and Carlos had run over him because he was in another rhythm, another dimension.
"But this final was different - and I sensed something special was going to happen.
"I didn’t expect what eventually happened - it felt like a Hitchcock thriller, almost impossible to believe. But before the match, I already had this feeling: ‘Whoa, something strange or unique will happen today.’”
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Watch memorable moment Alcaraz wins French Open after incredible Championship tie-break
Video credit: TNT Sports
Wilander: ”There was something special in the air the day that I arrived there because I had seen so many matches between the two of them.
"I saw a couple at the US Open where I thought already that this is the highest level that anyone has ever played tennis against one another, and it was special because it seemed like they both know each other's game so well, and they would anticipate where the other guy is going.
"Of course, they were the two best players in the world, that's always fun to watch, and it was the first final between the two, which was incredible.
"I think that a lot of people thought that Carlos Alcaraz would get to a French Open final, but with Jannik Sinner, we weren't really sure because he's not a clay court player necessarily, so yes, there was anticipation in the air. It was amazing.”
Mauresmo: ”I didn’t cross paths with them [before the match]. Generally, I don’t seek to meet the players before those moments. However, I do catch a glimpse of their warm-up on screen. But there’s nothing that made me think: ‘Oh, that’s a sign’. Not even on their faces, as they entered the court, I didn’t see anything that indicated something unusual for them.”
What do you remember about the start?
Corretja: ”It was madness. Missiles right from the start - massive shots at crazy speed. I kept thinking, 'There’s no way they can sustain this'. I thought it would be one tight set and then the pace would drop - but no, it never did.
”A 12-minute first game - in a Grand Slam final! Normally, you start cautiously, feeling things out. But right away, both of them said, ‘I’m all in - are you?’ And the other answered, ‘Yes, I am’. That’s what made this final, from the very first point to the last, absolutely unforgettable to me."
Wilander: ”Very early on it looked like Sinner had the upper hand. He won the first set 6-4 and it was pretty clear that he was a better player. The level was extremely high straight away. The intensity, because of that first opening game, went through the roof immediately, which was really cool.
”But again, Sinner was the better player, he managed to win the second set 7-6 and it just seemed like, ‘wow, Sinner is actually a better player than Carlos Alcaraz today’. I think that I was in a little bit of disbelief because I couldn't really think that they were going to do this on a clay court. So it was more of a surprise than the matches that I've seen before between them.
”You could pretty much tell straight away that the level was going to be high but obviously you had no idea about how dramatic it was going to be.”
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Watch amazing shot from Sinner that 'takes racquet out of Alcaraz's hands'
Video credit: TNT Sports
When Alcaraz saved three championship points
Corretja: "It caught my attention to see that he still believed. But you know what? I had the feeling that Sinner kind of shrank within himself at that point. He had been constantly looking toward his team, keeping that connection. But at that moment, he closed off - which can be good sometimes - but I think it cost him some aggression and spontaneity. He became more predictable, and Carlos started to grow, to step up. That was the turning point.”
Courier: ”That match was over. It felt like it was definitely over because Sinner had all the momentum. From 3-3, he'd gotten himself into this winning position of 5-3, 0-40.
"And Alcaraz plays such a high-risk style of tennis, it was just unlikely that something bad wasn't going to happen for Carlos and something good wasn't going to happen for Jannik. So it was pretty darn surprising when he didn't get it.
"The first match point, Carlos nearly lost it. He had a shot early in the rally that was on the line and then hit a great shot that Jannik couldn't handle. That seemed to rattle Jannik because he missed a second-serve return which he probably missed a handful of times the entire match. And then the third match point, he missed a rally-ball forehand, not trying to do damage, just trying to get the ball back to neutral.
”That's when [TNT Sports commentator] Nick Mullins and I looked at each other and thought, 'this isn't over, we might have something here'. And Jannik still had a chance to serve for it. But if you're around the game long enough, you know momentum.
”And when you're up 0-40 and you lose it, when you go to serve the next game, it gets so much harder because of what you didn't take the game before.”
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Watch as Alcaraz roars back to win third set in classic final with Sinner
Video credit: TNT Sports
McEnroe: ”The first point, Sinner had a couple good looks at balls that normally maybe he would go big on or go for the first couple of shots. And I'd sort of play it that way also.
”Second one, you get a little more anxious. So he went big on a return. If he had made it, it would have been genius.
”And then all of a sudden, the third one, that was the one where he hit a really good return and Carlos was able to sort of scoop it out, which is a lot tougher than it looked.
"And then he had a good look at a forehand as well. And God, it's hard to really just go for broke on that one when you're that close.”
Henin: ”There’s tension, for sure, but that’s normal. He’s close to winning Roland-Garros. It wasn’t a foregone conclusion, though, after his start to the year, his suspension, coming to challenge Alcaraz on his home turf. So the tension sets in. His legs are feeling a bit heavier.
”When you’ve been a player and experienced both kinds of situations, saving match points, even outside the Grand Slams. Imagine in the Roland-Garros final... you could still feel the phenomenal attention surrounding that match.
”There’s such excitement too. It was madness in the stadium. It was absolute madness. That really struck me in everything I’ve seen in my life as a tennis fan, or as a player, or as a spectator, or as a commentator. What happened in the stadium that day really made a huge impression on me. So, you have to imagine being on court as a player, that energy and what’s happening – you feel it on both sides.”
When Alcaraz finally wins
Corretja: ”Carlos rips a running passing shot down the line, right on the line. There’s no better feeling than finishing a major final with a running passing shot. Better than an ace, better than a solid return - that’s the ultimate expression of energy. He falls back, celebrates - and you just feel: ‘He’s going to make it’. Once he was running, you knew he wouldn’t miss. The margin was too small - it had to end like that. After all that drama, it had to. With how much Sinner had, if he couldn’t win this, it’s because it wasn’t meant to be. What Carlos did was practically unbeatable.”
Courier: ”When that match was over, I was exhilarated. Nick Mullins and I didn't speak during the tiebreaker. We agreed that we'd said everything that we wanted or needed to say, and that it was time for us and everyone who was watching the match with us to just enjoy it, just to be in the crowd effectively.
And it was a magical moment, those 13 points or so in that tiebreaker of just sitting and watching and absorbing it. I really loved that moment of being able to watch history and just kind of get out of the way of it and allow it to engulf all of us.”
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Watch emotional scene as Alcaraz celebrates with family and team after French Open glory
Video credit: TNT Sports
Henin: ”What I felt was an immediate urge to put myself in both their shoes. What Alcaraz did was brilliant, but what Sinner did was just as brilliant.
”And I don’t want to say, like many others: ‘we don’t like there being a winner’. That’s sport, that’s how it is! We need those images. We need an Alcaraz who’s celebrating, but who still has so much energy left to celebrate.
"And then there’s Sinner – it’s incredible, those images of him on his chair. He’s already replaying the match in his mind at that moment, though he’s certainly not entirely lucid, but he’s already replaying it. And there, we look at this whole little world.”
Greatest Grand Slam final in history?
Corretja: ”It’s always hard to compare. There have been many great finals. But as it unfolded, and the way it ended - yes, without a doubt, it’s in the top three. I used to be a fan of super tiebreaks in fifth sets - you can’t go 30-30, 40-40 forever, that’s absurd - but still, this one? However you look at it, it’s nearly impossible to top what we witnessed.”
Courier: ”In the aftermath of the match, I was scrambling to try and figure out where does that rank in my all-time matches, because it was immediately in the canon with so many great matches, whether it was the 2008 Wimbledon final with Federer and Nadal, the 2019 Wimbledon final with Federer and Djokovic, the 2012 Australian Open with Nadal and Djokovic. There's so many matches that immediately sprung to mind, and this one's right there. It absolutely is in that conversation.”
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Sinner says 'we gave everything we had' after marathon French Open final with Alcaraz
Video credit: TNT Sports
McEnroe: ”I feel like there's certain matches that you watch, maybe 10 to 20, that I've called over the course of my commentating career, and it's been 30-something years, where you feel proud that you're an ex-player, that you're watching something unbelievable that makes people that aren't necessarily tennis fans take a look at it and go, wow, that sport is pretty incredible.
”And so it made me proud to be sort of an ex-player, to sort of be a tiny part of it, as I'm calling this match, just sitting there watching these guys just give everything they had, and seemingly running on empty, but still going.”
Mauresmo: ”We already know it’s one of the great rivalries that will mark the history of our sport. They’re young. So, indeed, we can say that we have... I don’t know, it’s too hard to say 10 years, five years, or more. But we want it to last. We want it to happen again, perhaps quite often.
”And then, there will be new faces that could emerge And that’s what makes it interesting, too. But I think that as spectators, we still love rivalries. We love these showdowns; we love that. So men’s tennis is in for a treat again, at least for the next few years.”
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