Many tennis fans wondered if tennis would decline after the Golden Age of the Big Four. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner confirmed on Sunday that the Age of the Big Two has begun.
The budding Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry is worthy of comparisons with Borg-McEnroe, Sampras-Agassi and the epic rivalries involving Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and the King of Clay Rafa Nadal, who retired after winning 14 titles at Roland Garros.
Like other great rivalries, Alcaraz-Sinner features a striking contrast in styles: Alcaraz’s explosive creativity and exuberance vs. Sinner’s monstrous hitting and poker-faced determination.
In one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history, Alcaraz save three match points and defeated Sinner in a five-set thriller:4–6, 6–7, 6–4, 7–6, 7–6 after 5 hours and 29 minutes, the longest French Open final in history. Alcaraz’s level in the 10-point tie-breaker (which he won 10-2) was among the highest ever. He’s no longer a young phenom. At age 22, he’s now already an all-time great with 5 slam titles: US Open (2022), Wimbledon (2023 and 2024), and the French Open (2024 and 2025). He has also converted fans of the Big Four over to his side while Sinner endured a 3-month suspension amid allegations of doping.
“After the second set, I told myself: I’m not leaving here without a fight. I had to suffer. Roland Garros is about suffering.
Jannik is a machine. He makes you work for everything. Today, I just found something extra inside,” said Alcaraz. “I told myself that in specific moments, I had to go for it. No matter what. No matter if I was down. No matter if I lose the 5th. I just thought to go for it. Don’t be afraid. Today was all about belief in myself.”
In the first two sets, Sinner hammered Alcaraz’s second serve and dominated rallies with thunderous groundstrokes, including lasers from the forehand wing. He took the opening set 6–4, then edged a tense second set in a breaker, 7–4. Down two sets, Alcaraz looked troubled and confused. But champions don’t fade — they fight. Alcaraz raised his level and overcame three match points in the fourth-set down 3-5.
Many will remember the match for Sinner blowing 3 match points, a scar that can take years to heal. Federer’s coach Paul Annacone once spoke about the impact of “negative baggage” on young players. Sinner is still only 23, and he appeared to cry after losing the 4th set. (StevegTennis noted that Alcaraz won 12 of 13 points to go 6-5 up in 4th set.)
But Sinner found a way to fight back and forget. His daring play in the final set won over many in the crowd, which was overwhelmingly supportive of Alcaraz.
“Of course it’s difficult to accept now., because I had lots of chances,” said Sinner, who has won the US Open and two Australian Open titles. “But this is the good part of the sport and also today, I got the sad part. But if you watch only the sad part, you’re never gonna come back. I believe I have improved as a player since last year, which is good. We try to keep pushing.”
“I think that will end up being Nadal’s Wimbledon 2007 final for Sinner,” said analyst Gil Gross on X. “He’s on a surface that challenges him. He pushes his chief rival to the brink. The pain will be immense. But he’s only small gains away from getting there.”
Sinner has become a much better mover on clay, and his half-volley of a ball behind him was one of his greatest shots ever. He has the power and poise to win multiple titles at Roland Garros.
But Alcaraz stands in his way, as Rafa blocked Roger and Novak for years. Sinner will also have to adjust his game to overcome his tendency to fade in the fifth set. As Vansh noted on X: “Sinner’s “safety” shots are like 99.999999% of the tours’ red-lining shots. To not miss while hitting at that velocity and hit the middle of the strings everytime is crazy behavior.”
But his losing record in 5 set matches shows that his big swings are very demanding on him mentally and physically. He’s wearing himself down. While Sinner dug down deep near the end of the match, Alcaraz was bouncing on his toes behind the baseline. He found a superhuman energy reminiscent of Nadal and Djokovic, and maintained it throw the post-match ceremonies until he could barely hold up the trophy.
Meanwhile, many Djokovic fans were noting that Novak was at home resting up for Wimbledon, only three weeks away. While the Age of the Big Two is truly underway, the Greatest of All-Time is still aiming for his 25th slam.
(words and images copyright Christopher Johnson Globalite Media all rights reserved)
Grand Slam Magazine 