Alcaraz becomes third man to save championship point, win Grand Slam title

Entering the Roland Garros final on Sunday, only two men had saved championship point en route to a Grand Slam title in the Open Era. Carlos Alcaraz made it three, joining Gaston Gaudio and Novak Djokovic.

The Spaniard had never rallied from two sets down in his career, but the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings picked the perfect time for a first. The 22-year-old saved three championship points and battled past World No. 1 Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in a showdown that will never be forgotten.

"The match [is] not finished until he wins the last point. It [was] just one point away from losing the match. But a lot of times people came back from match point down in [the] final of a Grand Slam or even in other matches," Alcaraz said. "So I just wanted to be one of those players who saved match point in the Grand Slam final and ended up winning.

"I just believe all the time. I never have doubts about myself, even [on] those match points down. I thought, 'Just one point at a time'. Just one point and then after [another] point and then try to save that game and keep believing. That's what I thought."

CARLOS TO-DO LIST 📝

Come back from two sets down: ✅
Save 3 championship points: ✅
Defend title ✅

SIMPLY. ON. ANOTHER. LEVEL. 🚀#rolandgarros #alcaraz pic.twitter.com/VxhxVUdDkR

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 8, 2025

The first man to save championship point in a Grand Slam final and emerge victorious was Gaston Gaudio at Roland Garros in 2004 against Guillermo Coria. Coria served for the title at 6-5 in the deciding set and earned two championship points, but made a backhand error and a forehand error, which allowed Gaudio to surge to a 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6 victory.

Djokovic turned the tables on Roger Federer in the 2019 Wimbledon final. The Swiss served for the championship at 8-7 in the fifth set, but let slip his opportunities to lift the trophy by pushing a forehand wide before Djokovic hit a perfect forehand passing shot for a winner on Federer's second chance. The Serbian eventually triumphed 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 13-12(3).

The big difference in the Alcaraz-Sinner match is that Sinner did not earn championship point on his serve, nor were his chances in the deciding set. The Italian had three opportunities at 5-3 in the fourth set with Alcaraz serving to stay in the match. Learn about how Alcaraz saved the three championship points.

This was the second-longest Grand Slam final in the Open Era. The longest was the scintillating five-hour, 53-minute duel between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open final, won by Djokovic. The third-longest major final was at the Australian Open in 2022, when Rafael Nadal rallied from two sets down to stun Daniil Medvedev in five hours and 24 minutes.