2025 French Open Men's Final: Yannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz

[atttomole]

Toilet breaks from hell, feigning injury, I could probably think of more if I was interested. He even lied on forms to get into Australia. He would kill his granny and you, to get a W…

Novak the biggest cheat in tennis. You come across as being bitter though.

 

[Kieran]

Novak the biggest cheat in tennis.

You come across as an unreliable witness. You could at least tone down your insecurity when you reply, nobody called him the biggest cheat in tennis…

 

[atttomole]

You come across as an unreliable witness. You could at least tone down your insecurity when you reply, nobody called him the biggest cheat in tennis…

I was exaggerating, clearly, but you are a very bitter poster!!

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

I agree with you there, and we saw an example in the Olympics final against Carlos, one of Novaks greatest ever performances. If Novak goes deep at Wimbledon and Carlos is gone, then he’ll do everything - including cheating - to win. Nobody else has the experience at that level to stop him…

The Olympics are another big tournament with a short turnaround and a surface change. Remember, Novak and Carlos played in the Olympics last year (and made the final), Jannik did not.

All of Jannik's great runs at the slams have either come from extended rest over the competition (US Open 2024 and French Open 2025) or an Australian Open (and that comes after a season break). Jannik hasn't had that run at a slam when he hasn't had a clear rest advantage.

Novak and Carlos have been battle tested at Wimbledon and the Olympics (the short turnaround big tournaments). Jannik has not. Just look at the stats since 2018:

Novak (6 Wimbledon finals and 4 Wimbledon titles; 1 Olympic final and Gold Medal)
Carlos (2 Wimbledon finals and titles; 1 Olympic final and Silver Medal)
Jannik (0 Wimbledon finals and titles; 0 Olympic appearances)

Wimbledon and the Olympics are different type of pressure. It's very possible that Jannik handles that pressure well. It's not a guarantee (ask Nadal and Wawrinka, who have won the French Open, but struggled at Wimbledon). He just never had the opportunity to prove it on those stages. Novak and Carlos have, which is why I have them as the Top 2 favorites.

 

[Federberg]

^not sure Sinner has had a rest advantage in Australia. He's just THAT good... I think he'll be a prohibitive favourite on hard courts for years to come

 

[Kieran]

I was exaggerating, clearly, but you are a very bitter poster!!

You don’t know me, even remotely, and yet you know that. That’s incredible…

 

[Kieran]

The Olympics are another big tournament with a short turnaround and a surface change. Remember, Novak and Carlos played in the Olympics last year (and made the final), Jannik did not.

All of Jannik's great runs at the slams have either come from extended rest over the competition (US Open 2024 and French Open 2025) or an Australian Open (and that comes after a season break). Jannik hasn't had that run at a slam when he hasn't had a clear rest advantage.

Novak and Carlos have been battle tested at Wimbledon and the Olympics (the short turnaround big tournaments). Jannik has not. Just look at the stats since 2018:

Novak (6 Wimbledon finals and 4 Wimbledon titles; 1 Olympic final and Gold Medal)
Carlos (2 Wimbledon finals and titles; 1 Olympic final and Silver Medal)
Jannik (0 Wimbledon finals and titles; 0 Olympic appearances)

Wimbledon and the Olympics are different type of pressure. It's very possible that Jannik handles that pressure well. It's not a guarantee (ask Nadal and Wawrinka, who have won the French Open, but struggled at Wimbledon). He just never had the opportunity to prove it on those stages. Novak and Carlos have, which is why I have them as the Top 2 favorites.

Well I need to defend Rafa here, he’s won 2 Wimbledons, reached 3 more finals, making 5 finals in a row (skipped 2009 when he was World number one), and reached 3 semis - that’s not chopped liver. But the turnaround from winning the FO and then Wimbledon is historically difficult, it’s only been achieved about 9 times in the open era, with Borg getting it 3 times and Rafa next, doing it twice. I think if there had been a 3 week gap between them earlier, he might have done it more often, but we seen how wear and tear affected him over the years…

 

[Jelenafan]

^not sure Sinner has had a rest advantage in Australia. He's just THAT good... I think he'll be a prohibitive favourite on hard courts for years to come

Sinner had an insane HC tear last fall, winning 2 Masters, the US Open AND the ATP YE finals and then winning the AO early in the year, and overall he’s won the last 3 HC slams.

Sinner turns 24 in a couple of months, putting on my El Dude statistical hat isn’t that the time period when most players are close to their peak? So yes he deserves to be the prohibitive fave on HC.

Having said that, the only fly in the ointment is that Alcaraz just turned 22, has beaten Sinner 5 straight times ( including twice on HC) and I cannot get his insane 5th set tiebreaker( after nearly 5 1/2 hours) out of my head.

It gives me pause as to whether Sinner’s HC dominance will continue with that other guy around. I’m so looking forward to their future battles.

What is appealing about them is that they are sufficiently different styles & personalities so that it’s. Not a drone versus drone matchup.

 

[Kieran]

Sinner had an insane HC tear last fall, winning 2 Masters, the US Open AND the ATP YE finals and then winning the AO early in the year, and overall he’s won the last 3 HC slams.

Sinner turns 24 in a couple of months, putting on my El Dude statistical hat isn’t that the time period when most players are close to their peak? So yes he deserves to be the prohibitive fave on HC.

Having said that, the only fly in the ointment is that Alcaraz just turned 22, has beaten Sinner 5 straight times ( including twice on HC) and I cannot get his insane 5th set tiebreaker( after nearly 5 1/2 hours) out of my head.

It gives me pause as to whether Sinner’s HC dominance will continue with that other guy around. I’m so looking forward to their future battles.

What is appealing about them is that they are sufficiently different styles & personalities so that it’s. Not a drone versus drone matchup.

I think the USO is going to be interesting. Carlos playing the Olympics was dumb and as usual, when players play that they tend to lose in NYC. I think he’s going to have a mighty tilt at that title this year. I think he’s as good on hards as Sinner, and he’ll prove that, eventually…

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

For what it's worth, here are the Wimbledon results of all slam winners in the last 20 years following their first French Open final:

Nadal (2005) - loss in 2nd round
Federer (2006) - Won title (4th consecutive)
Djokovic (2012) - loss in semifinals
Wawrinka (2015) - loss in quarterfinals
Murray (2016) - Won title
Thiem (2018) - loss in 1st round
Alcaraz (2024) - Won title (2nd consecutive)
Sinner (2025) - ?

In bold are players that previously won Wimbledon prior to their first French Open final. As you can see, players that have previously won Wimbledon prior to their first French Open final fared better during the Wimbledon following their first French Open final.

 

[Kieran]

For what it's worth, here are the Wimbledon results of all slam winners in the last 20 years following their first French Open final:

Nadal (2005) - loss in 2nd round
Federer (2006) - Won title (4th consecutive)
Djokovic (2012) - loss in semifinals
Wawrinka (2015) - loss in quarterfinals
Murray (2016) - Won title
Thiem (2018) - loss in 1st round
Alcaraz (2024) - Won title (2nd consecutive)
Sinner (2025) - ?

In bold are players that previously won Wimbledon prior to their first French Open final. As you can see, players that have previously won Wimbledon prior to their first French Open final fared better during the Wimbledon following their first French Open final.

Interesting stat, and it inspired me to look up how players did after winning their first FO:

Nadal (2005) - loss in second round
Federer (2009) - won Wimbledon
Stan (2015) - loss in quarters
Djokovic (2016) - loss in 3rd round
Alcaraz (2024) - won Wimbledon

So Carlos and Roger did the channel slam, but generally whether a player wins or loses their first French, they tend not to back it up.

By the way, I looked at players of the previous years to 2005 and it only emphasised that a change came over tennis: lads like Gaudio, Kuerten, Costa, Ferrero, were never going to trouble anyone on Wimbledon finals day. Agassi reached the final in 1999, then before that, the mists of time shroud the FO champions at Wimbledon..

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

" I prepared for a GS with one tournament also on clay, making the final of course its difficult to accept now, Because I had a lot of chances.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".
Jannik Sinner via Roland Garros press.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I also feel it is unfair to say, that Jannik Sinner is not mentally tough after 5 and 5 hours at the RG final? in saying that, Alcaraz was mentally tougher when he needed to be and thats the difference!, our game is 80% mental, you can have all the shots in your pocket, though if your mental game has abandoned you, you can forget about winning the match ( or any match).
I have to agree with comments made from Gill Gross after the final.
"I think that will end up being Nadal's Wimbledon 2007 final for Sinner.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".

 

[kskate2]

Difficult to say anything about this match that hasn’t been said. I never felt so tense during a match in my life, that didn’t have Bjorn, Pete or Rafa in it. Clearly the greatest ever FO final. Momentum shifts, the outcome hanging in the balance throughout, unbelievable shotmaking from both. Great strength of character. John McEnroe jumped a shark by saying they’d both beat Rafa - who never even played a fifth set in a FO final in his whole career - but you could understand the enthusiasm. We all watched something incredible.

But the fifth set tiebreak was the single greatest performance I’ve ever seen in any match of this scale. Already the match was going to be the greatest in that stadium, but Carlos in the fifth set tiebreak created his own masterpiece, something we haven’t seen from any of the greatest players of the past. It makes you reach for superlatives and dive off a cliff into pretentious withering. It was the final movement of Mozart’s final symphony, it was Sad-Eyed Lady at the end of Blonde on Blonde - it was just something that transcends the sport in a way even the Big 3 couldn’t do. When John McEnroe said that about both players beating Rafa in Paris I scoffed - except I do have to wonder how Rafa would have gotten into that tiebreak. It’s really difficult to see anyone live with that.

Carlos made “God-mode” seem like an inadequate term. There’s no way to describe it - they’d played for over five hours, they’d suffered crashing disappointments, swelling hopes they’d grab the title - then Carlitos played as if Sinner didn’t exist, as if he himself had switched off and gone someplace else, some place where he calmly and routinely played seven miraculously perfect points to obliterate his opponent, and end it all.

They asked Pete Sampras what he was thinking when he second-serve aced Agassi to win the ‘99 Wimbledon final. Pete said he was thinking nothing. Carlos may well have been in that same place, but for seven points.

It was Mozart’s fugue - but improvised in front of a crowd the size of the whole world, and with Sinner at his very best trying to stop him.

That was something we’ve never seen before, by anyone…

Actually in a match super TB, it's 10 points

 

[El Dude]

You can tighten up, but not choke. I think he played the right way but he overhit it. It wasn’t like Rafa’s Backhand down the line from Hell, or Novak running into the net at Paris. They were straightforward manoeuvres that went wrong because both players got over excited. It wasn’t like he had a six inch putt and he took out the driver. Sinner didn’t execute well, but had good reason to over-egg his nog - Carlos is as ruthless as a wild savage under pressure. He’s played well at that moment. Ok, there was a backhand on second serve and I think he didn’t play that great - but I don’t think he choked..

You had me at "over-egg his nog." Haha.

I wonder if Denis Shapovalov watches Carlos and thinks, "Hey, that's how I try to play! Why doesn't it work for me?"

 

[kskate2]

I'm not counting out the guy that's been to the last 6 Wimbledon finals, winning 4 of them. I still trust Novak more than Jannik at Wimbledon. I know that Novak has been there and done that many times over, whereas Jannik has never had to face the pressure of Wimbledon. It's very possible that Jannik is upset early. But even if it doesn't happen, this is the one environment where I'm taking Novak over Jannik. You saw how Jannik struggled with the pressure today closing out the match. If he can't handle that pressure, I can't see him handling the pressure at Wimbledon, an environment Jannik has never really faced before.

Carlos is the only player I have favored over Novak at Wimbledon. Carlos proved last year that he can follow-up a French Open run with another one at Wimbledon. Jannik has not proven that yet.

But even then, Carlos isn't immune to an upset at Wimbledon. If someone takes Carlos out early, Novak becomes the favorite.

I am and I have no issue saying it publicly. I've already said what needs to happen for Djoke to win 25. It would have to be the most PERFECT of perfect storms. An extremely friendly draw like he had at RG. Someone to do the dirty work of extracting the Big 2 from the equation. Lastly, face one of his pigeons or someone very green in the final. What's the likelihood of all that happening? I'll be the first to admit I was wrong if it comes to that, but we all know I'm rarely wrong around here.

 

[don_fabio]

I also feel it is unfair to say, that Jannik Sinner is not mentally tough after 5 and 5 hours at the RG final? in saying that, Alcaraz was mentally tougher when he needed to be and thats the difference!, our game is 80% mental, you can have all the shots in your pocket, though if your mental game has abandoned you, you can forget about winning the match ( or any match).
I have to agree with comments made from Gill Gross after the final.
"I think that will end up being Nadal's Wimbledon 2007 final for Sinner.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 should be given huge credit for his perfromance yesterday. Crowd was so much on Carlos side and it's not mentioned much, you have to feel a bit for Jannick and his loss. He came so close, but the combination of little tightness and the want to finish the match, plus some insane shotmaking from Carlos on crucial points made a difference. As you said, tennis won yesterday and that's all it matters. We have much to look forward to between these two guys.

 

[El Dude]

Alcaraz is not only 5-0 in Slam finals, he's 12-2 in big title finals...his lone losses being the Olympics last year and Cincy in 2023, both to Novak.

 

[don_fabio]

I am and I have no issue saying it publicly. I've already said what needs to happen for Djoke to win 25. It would have to be the most PERFECT of perfect storms. An extremely friendly draw like he had at RG. Someone to do the dirty work of extracting the Big 2 from the equation. Lastly, face one of his pigeons or someone very green in the final. What's the likelihood of all that happening? I'll be the first to admit I was wrong if it comes to that, but we all know I'm rarely wrong around here.

 

[Kieran]

Alcaraz is not only 5-0 in Slam finals, he's 12-2 in big title finals...his lone losses being the Olympics last year and Cincy in 2023, both to Novak.

And there’s his growing fifth set record, which will go someday but tells us a lot about how he builds himself into these matches. He’s really great at matchplay, whatever it is, he really has a temperament for the long match..