Sinner aiming to 'delete' Roland Garros final from memory

Jannik Sinner stood on the brink of victory against Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday at Roland Garros, but fell agonisingly short, squandering three championship points in the final. Afterward the Italian reflected on his five-hour, 29-minute fifth-set tie-break defeat in the French capital.

“[I am] happy to deliver this kind of level. Happy about the tournament still. But obviously this one hurts,” said Sinner, who was trying to win his fourth major and first Roland Garros crown. “[There is] not so much to talk right now. But again, I'm happy how we are trying to improve every day and trying to put myself in these kind of positions. It's a very high-level match, that's for sure. So happy to be part of this. But the final result hurts.”

Sinner appeared to be moving toward victory, up by two sets and a break in the third set, and then leading 5-3 in the fourth set. But Alcaraz wasn’t done. The Spaniard dug deep, fending off three championship points to hold before he broke back to level the set at 5-5. Alcaraz eventually won the tie-break to push the match into a thrilling fifth set.

After the match, Sinner was asked how he handled the emotional swing and managed to reset his mindset heading into the decider.

“I tried to delete everything, every set. In Grand Slams you try to start from zero again,” Sinner said. “I was of course disappointed about the fourth set and match points and serving for the match. But again, I stayed there mentally. I didn't give him any free points. When it was over, it was over.

“That's a different feeling. Different things [are] coming through your mind. You can’t change anymore when the match is over. But when you start a fifth set, you can still change some things.”

Sinner now holds a 6-10 fifth-set record and has also never won a match that has gone beyond the three-hour, 50-minute mark (0-7).

Having competed in the longest Roland Garros final in history, Sinner was quick to play down any physical concerns and was pleased with the level he found.

“Physically I was quite fine. Of course, tired. He was tired too, because it was physical match. It was [a] mental match. You can't really change it. I'm still happy to be part of this match,” Sinner said. “I think it was a very, very high-level match, was long… We try to delete it somehow and take the positive and keep going. There are no other ways.”

By claiming his fifth major, Alcaraz improved to 8-4 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Alcaraz and Sinner’s absorbing rivalry began at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris in 2021, with Sunday’s meeting their best match to date.

The 23-year-old shared his thoughts on how he feels his rivalry with Alcaraz compares to those in the past.

“I think every rivalry is different. Back in the days, they played a little bit different tennis. Now the ball is going fast. It's very physical. It's slightly different from my point of view, but you cannot compare. I was lucky enough to play against Novak, against Rafa. In Grand Slams Roger I never played, unfortunately. Beating these guys, it takes a lot,” Sinner said.

“I have the same feeling with Carlos and some other players. It's good to see that we can produce also tennis like this, because I think it's good for the whole movement of tennis and the crowd. It was a good atmosphere today and also to be part of it, it's very special. Of course, I'm happy to be part of this.”

Despite the loss, Sinner retains his position atop the PIF ATP Rankings with a lead of 2,030 points. As defending champion, Alcaraz was unable to add points. However, Sinner gained 500 points because he lost in the semi-finals last year (also to Alcaraz).

The 23-year-old leaves Paris holding a 18-2 record on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. Sinner was trying to become just the fifth man in the Open Era to win three consecutive majors, having won the US Open in September and the Australian Open in January.