French Open 2025: A Duel For The Ages
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It has been called everything from an epic tennis match, to a championship duel for the ages, to the best Grand Slam ever played, to one of the greatest championship matches in the history of the sport.
All of these descriptions and more may just be right on the mark.
The war staged on the red clay at Roland Garros in Paris for the French Open crown actually defies words of what it all meant. It was that remarkable.
I’ve always shied away from the current practice of always rating players, games, whatever, as to where everything stacks up in history.
The Greatest Of All Time only stands till the next thing comes along.
And it always does.
But you had to have the unmistakable feeling that what you saw in the five and a half hour exhausting, mano-a-mano struggle between the top two men’s tennis players in the world,
Jannik Sinner of Italy, and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz was something we have rarely witnessed. And you don’t have to be a tennis aficionado to appreciate and understand its impact.
So, what makes an event as special as this one? What are the elements that comprise a sporting contest that can stand the test of time? What does it take to declare the 2025 French Open championship match the greatest in any or all categories?
While stunning upsets bring observers out of their seats when a David overcomes a Goliath, you can’t beat the confrontation of two heavyweights meeting face-to-face to decide who is the best for that day, anyway.
When the trio of the most brilliant players gathered in Paris to basically signal an end of a 20-plus year domination, the natural question as to what’s next in tennis emerged.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were responsible for tennis thrills for so long to the delight of the sporting public.
But what now? We now know. It’s a rivalry that should carry the sport for the next decade and more.
So the rivalry was established. Alcaraz at 22, Sinner at 23.
Both had already won major championships and the specific circumstances of their past records and other statistics won’t be enumerated here and delay our quest for what makes for the question of what makes for a truly memorable moment.
Sinner recently resumed his career, coming in with a blemish on his tennis life when he was suspended for three months regarding a doping case from last season.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, regained his exciting form after experiencing nearly a year of inconsistent and erratic play.
Thus, the setting was in place.
Then, there was the match itself. For awhile it appeared as though it would fail to deliver on its promise. Sinner captured the first two sets in the best-of-five, winning by close scores, 6-4, and 7-6 in a tiebreak. They were closely fought, but all you need to do is win the sets and that’s what Sinner accomplished.
My feeling has always been that the term momentum at the outset of any contest is foolhardy. That all that counts is what transpires on that particular day.
But in tennis there is a great deal of momentum within the match, and that is a significant factor. The taller Sinner, with his powerful serve and groundstrokes are what make him so difficult to beat.
The Italian had it going and needed to win only one more set to achieve his first French Open title.
Alcaraz was in a tough spot. He had never rallied from a 2-set deficit to come back and win. He had lost in all 8 of his previous encounters down 0-2.
Previously, Alcaraz on occasion, suffered physical breakdowns, mostly due to stress, so how would he respond in this situation?
This time he summoned his incredible determination to battle on. And did he ever.
The in-match momentum shifted, and Carlos won the third set to stay alive.
In all events considered a cut above and worthy of distinction, there is a segment that is especially riveting to the audience. This one had a beauty.
Sinner led the fourth set, 5-3, needed one game to close it out.
But the desperate Alcaraz proceeded to win 13 of the next 14 points to take a 6-5 lead, eventually won by the Spaniard in the second tiebreak of the match.
Most significant in that run was the fact Sinner needed only ONE point to end it, with three chances against Alcaraz’ serve. But Carlos rallied to win the game and then break Sinner in the next game.
Now it was Sinner on the hot seat with a deciding set to play.
Could he possibly hang in against a revived Alcaraz who clearly had the physical advantage with his proven stamina? Sinner seemed to be weakening, experiencing cramps at one point. However, the Italian refused to wilt, and challenged Alcaraz and the fifth and deciding set wound up as the third tiebreak in the final.
Alcaraz was too much for Sinner in the extra games and the longest French Open in history, and second-longest Gram Slam ever was history.
It was a breathtaking marathon where both warriors refused to be counted out when it seemed clear their chances were slim.
Alcaraz excels on the clay surface he grew up playing. It is difficult to deal with. It takes extra effort to handle its unpredictability. Sinner’s specialty is on the hard courts.
But the greats have to be able to play and win on them all, and the great ones do.
The one major takeaway from the classic French Open championship is that the sport of tennis is alive and well and then some. We are blessed with several young stars-to-be.
But not only do we have the two who stand head and shoulders above the rest, but a style we have never seen. The incredible athleticism displayed by both Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner last week in Paris, is unprecedented. What was astounding was the power of the groundstrokes, and the ability to reach those shots and turn them into winners.
The agility all over the court was mind-boggling. And then there were those deft drop shots, when executed to perfection, that changed the pace and won a point.
Imagine, two youngsters performing at a fevered pitch for five sets over five-plus hours, head-to-head, with momentum changes and fatigue always in the mix.
All things being equal we will be treated to a long spell of a rivalry, full of intensity, of two athletically superior tennis players who still have to prove their greatness over time.
What made the 2025 French Open championship what it was, had all of the ingredients that make it a memory for all time. This is what it had, the overall setting, the keen rivalry, the non-stop intensity, the amazing hard-hitting, and athleticism never seen before in tennis, the tremendous comeback by the eventual champion, the revival of both players on the verge of downfall, and the one-on-one battle previously only seen in the heyday of boxing.
Unquestionably, the 2025 French Open championship between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, was everything that’s been said, and more.
