Carlos Alcaraz announced himself as the new King of Clay with a stunning comeback victory over Jannik Sinner in the French Open final.
The 22-year-old came from two sets to love behind to stun the world number one and leave him wondering how on earth he managed to lose from such a commanding position.
Sinner raced into a two-set lead before Alcaraz came back and made a game of things.
Then, Sinner proved that he’s perhaps not the machine that everyone had believed him to be by letting his guard down and allowing Alcaraz a way in.
The Italian had three championship points at 5-3 up in the fourth, but after saving them all, it was the Spaniard who kicked on and roared to the title.
John McEnroe called it the greatest French Open final ever, and it’s a match that will certainly live long in the memory.
Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty ImagesRoger Federer and Coco Gauff react as Carlos Alcaraz wins the French Open
For months, it’s been claimed that Sinner and Alcaraz will take over the mantle from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal when it comes to being the great rivalry in tennis.
Now, that looks nailed on, with the first instalment taking place on Court Philippe-Chatrier yesterday.
After the match, Alcaraz took to Instagram to send a message to all of his supporters, which read: “How was your Sunday?”, alongside a photograph of him clutching the French Open trophy.
Naturally, he received some well-wishes from the world of tennis. Coco Gauff, the winner of the women’s event at Roland Garros, simply posted, “let’s goooo”, alongside an emoji of a trophy.
Gauff also posted on her story. She posted: “Congratulations, Carlos Alcaraz. Amazing comeback. We ran back Beijing.”
This was a nod to the China Open at the back end of last year when both players won their respective titles at that event.
There was also a response from the legendary Federer. He posted on his Instagram story: “3 winners in Paris today. Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and the beautiful game of tennis. What a match.”
Jakub Mensik, Holger Rune and Stan Wawrinka all commented too, with Alcaraz seemingly an extremely popular player on the ATP Tour.
Carlos Alcaraz made history by winning French Open title
The Spaniard will be eyeing up more titles, and at some point, it looks likely that he’s going to get close to knocking Sinner off his perch at the top of the world rankings.
On Sunday, Alcaraz became the first man in the Open Era of tennis to win his first five Grand Slam finals, with no other competitor managing such a feat.
Alcaraz will likely have a little rest before turning his attention to Queen’s and then later on this month, Wimbledon, where he will once again be looking to defend his crown.
At 22, it’s scary what the player could achieve in the game and along with Sinner, it feels like the pair are going to dominate the sport for many years to come.