Carlos Alcaraz made a comeback for the ages in the French Open final against Jannik Sinner on Sunday to win the fifth Grand Slam of his career. It was 0-8 against him in major tournaments after dropping the first two sets, but the Spaniard did the unthinkable, winning the last three sets. With this win, Alcaraz matched an incredible stat with legendary Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz has won his fifth Grand Slam title at the same age as Nadal when he achieved the same feat. Call it destiny or anything else, but both Nadal and Alcaraz were 22 years, 1 month, and 3 days old when they won their fifth Grand Slam title in their respective careers. Alcaraz also created history, saving three championship points - the most by any player in a Grand Slam final.
Moreover, the 22-year-old joined Novak Djokovic to become the second player in the Open Era to win multiple major titles after saving a match point. Carlos Alcaraz had done it before at the 2022 US Open and repeated his heroics at the French Open on Sunday. For the unversed, Djokovic earned this feat back in the 2011 US Open and 2019 Wimbledon.
Alcaraz reacted to the coincidence of being the same age of Nadal while winning the fifth Grand Slam title, saying that it's destiny. "Honestly, the coincidence of winning my fifth Grand Slam at the same age as Rafa Nadal, I'm going to say that's destiny, I guess.
"It is a stat that I'm going to keep for me forever, winning the fifth Grand Slam at the same time as Rafa, my idol, my inspiration. It's a huge honor, honestly. Hopefully, it's not going to stop like this," Alcaraz said after the match. For the unversed, the French Open 2025 final lasted 5 hours and 29 minutes, the second longest, the longest French Open men's final in the Open era, and the second-longest men's Grand Slam final ever.