After a flawless fortnight in Paris, Sinner's eye-catching run ends in heartbreak

After a flawless fortnight in Paris, Jannik Sinner was on the brink of capturing his first French Open title on Sunday after a dominant run on the clay courts of Roland Garros.

Facing defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, the top-ranked Italian was firmly in control.

Sinner's deep groundstrokes, excellent service, heavy top spin, and subtle variations had worn down Alcaraz, who found himself 5-3 down and trailing 0-40 in the fourth set, and facing three match points.

At that moment, it felt like the best of all possible worlds for the 23-year-old Sinner.

But then the momentum swung. Alcaraz fought back, saved the first match point when Sinner sent a forehand long. On the second, Sinner missed a return. The third ended with Alcaraz winning a short baseline exchange.

Sinner had just let his chance slip away.

From there, Alcaraz produced one of the greatest comebacks in Roland Garros history to win the longest final ever played on the Parisian dirt — five hours and 29 minutes — 4-6,6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2).

"It's an amazing trophy, so I won't sleep tonight very well, but it's okay," Sinner said during the trophy ceremony.

There is hardly anything between the two best players in tennis at the moment, who have now combined to win the last six Grand Slam titles and appear poised to build one of the sport's most compelling rivalries in the years ahead.

Sunday's duel delivered a match of rare intensity, filled with punishing baseline rallies, exquisite drop shots, and brilliant passing shots — thrilling a packed Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Reflecting on the match in his post-final media conference, Sinner tried to draw positives from a devastating loss.

"Obviously, this one hurts," he said. "There's not so much to say right now. But again, I'm happy with how we're trying to improve every day and put myself in these kinds of positions. It was a very high-level match, that's for sure. I'm happy to be part of it. But yeah, the final result hurts."

It was a particularly tough ending for Sinner, who had not dropped a set on his way to the final, including a dominant semifinal win over three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic.

Before facing Alcaraz, Sinner had never lost a Grand Slam final, winning his first three. A victory would have made him just the fifth man in the Open Era to win three consecutive major titles.

"I'm pretty sure you are going to be a champion, not once but many, many times," Alcaraz told him during the trophy ceremony. "It is a privilege to share the court with you in every tournament, making history with you."

Sinner, who will remain world No 1, said he'll lean on his family and loved ones to recover from the loss.

"Now it's my time to take something from the close people I have," he said.

"As I've always said, before my career started, I never would've imagined finding myself in this position. It wasn't even a dream because it felt so far away — I wasn't even thinking about it. Now I find myself here, playing the longest final in the history of Roland Garros. It hurts, yes, but on the other hand, you can't go on crying."

Agencies Via Xinhua