Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner cement new era, style reigns supreme at 2025 Roland Garros

1. Alcaraz and Sinner Masterpiece Enters the Pantheon—More to Come?

Two words to describe the 2025 Roland Garros men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner: divine creation. With that in mind, I turn to the wisdom of my friend L. An art teacher for decades, L has been known to tell her students, “That painting was excellent. But it wasn’t magical.”

Tennis history is filled with tales of excellent matches. But to enter the realm of magic, something else is required. As a start, a magical match will usually occur during the final of a high-stakes event. Second, it likely features the top players of a given era. And third, the quality of the tennis and attendant drama is sublime, incorporating rare plot elements and an exceptionally close conclusion.

Alcaraz-Sinner was unquestionably magical. The three championship points Alcaraz faced came at love-40. It’s hard enough to come back that way in any situation, much less the finals of a major versus a highly skilled opponent who’s won the last two majors and appears impregnable.

Again and again, Alcaraz found answers to Sinner’s questions. Ditto for Sinner versus Alcaraz. It would have been easy for him to unravel once down a break early in the fifth set. Instead, Sinner fought back hard, only in the end undone by yet more Alcaraz magic. “I think the real champions are made in that situations when you deal with that pressure,” said Alcaraz, “with that situations in the best way possible. I mean, that's what the real champions have done in their whole careers.”

As we take in the masterpiece created by these two geniuses who have already built Hall of Fame-worthy resumes, here are five men’s singles finals this one joins on tennis’ mountain of magic, cited simply in reverse chronological order:

• 2019 Wimbledon: On tennis’ biggest stage, Novak Djokovic rallies from two championship points down to beat Roger Federer in a fifth-set tiebreaker.
• 2012 Australian Open: Djokovic takes nearly six hours to overcome Rafael Nadal, 7-5 in the fifth.
• 2008 Wimbledon: As darkness descends on Centre Court’s final roofless evening, Nadal and Federer play one for the ages, Nadal emerging the victor, 9-7 in the fifth.
• 1980 Wimbledon: In a vivid stylistic contrast between baseliner and netrusher, ice and fire, Bjorn Borg earns his fifth straight Wimbledon singles title, just getting past John McEnroe, 8-6 in the fifth.
• 1972 WCT: At a time when this Dallas event was considered tennis’ third most-important tournament, Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver go right down to the wire, Rosewall taking it in a fifth-set tiebreaker.

Having won the last four majors, it was clear as Roland Garros began that Alcaraz and Sinner stood head and shoulders above their peers. This recent fortnight, capped by the magnificent final, emphatically demonstrated their superiority. “It's good to see that we can produce also tennis like this,” said Sinner, “because I think it's good for the whole movement of tennis and the crowd. It was a good atmosphere today, no, and also to be part of it, it's very special.”

This was only the first time these two had played one another in a Grand Slam final. Notably, Alcaraz is 22 years old. Sinner is 23. Surely, there will be more such magic – perhaps as soon as Wimbledon.

I guess my best chances maybe are Wimbledon, you know, to win another slam or faster hard court, maybe Australia or something like that. Novak Djokovic following his RG semifinal defeat to Jannik Sinner

2. Novak Djokovic: Feeling Great At 38

Last year, my belief was that for Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon was in large part his tune-up event as he pursued Olympic gold. Mission accomplished. This year, I think the same about Roland Garros—and Djokovic’s desire to earn his 25^th Grand Slam singles, perhaps this year at the All England Club.

To think that less than a month ago, Djokovic had yet to win a match on clay this year and had not earned a singles title since last summer’s Olympics. But then, in his typical methodical way, Djokovic won career title 100 in Geneva and arrived at Roland Garros with increased confidence. In Paris, he won 12 straight sets to reach the quarters. At the stage, versus ’24 Roland Garros finalist Alexander Zverev, he put on a master class in movement, tactics, and execution. Speaking after that match, Djokovic said, “Obviously beating one of the best players in the world on the biggest stages is something that I definitely work for, and I still, you know, push myself on a daily basis at this age because of these kind of matches and these kind of experiences. It's a proven kind of testament to myself that I can and to others that I can still play on the highest level.”

Djokovic’s straight set semifinal loss to Sinner intrigued. As in control as Sinner seemed for much of the match, the final score—6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3)—reveals just how competitive it was. “Obviously Wimbledon is next,” said Djokovic following the Sinner match, “which is my childhood favorite tournament. I'm going to do everything possible to get myself ready. I guess my best chances maybe are Wimbledon, you know, to win another slam or faster hard court, maybe Australia or something like that.” Great news for Djokovic was that he left Roland Garros physically unscarred and surely feels in a good place to vie for his eighth Wimbledon singles title.

3. Three American Men Fared Well—A Good Sign for Wimbledon

As anticipated, they came, they saw, they battled – and, for the first time since 1996, two American men reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. They each took vastly different routes. Frances Tiafoe won four matches without the loss of a set, including impressive victories over formidable opponents Pablo Carreno Busta, Sebastian Korda, and Daniel Altmaier. But, in a battle pitting two highly creative players, Lorenzo Musetti’s clay court experience made the difference.

In contrast, Tommy Paul labored. His second and third round matches both went the distance, a pair of highly physical five-setters versus Marton Fucsovics and Karen Khachanov that lasted a combined total of seven hours and 45 minutes. Both of these efforts were superb showcases of Paul’s movement, versatility, and tenacity. Alas, once it was time for Paul to face Alcaraz in the quarters, he was depleted and swiftly beaten in straight sets.

These results in Paris bode well for Tiafoe and Paul as they transition into the grass court season. The same holds true for Ben Shelton, who made his way to the round of 16 before losing to Alcaraz in a gem of a four-setter.

4. A Stylistic Smorgasbord

There is always a prevailing style that pervades tennis. Once upon a time, serve-volleyers dominated. Throughout the 21^st century, the model has been the aggressive baseliner, demonstrated by Djokovic and, most recently, Sinner. But peel the onion and contemporary tennis reveals an eclectic range of stylists: Tiafoe’s blend of power and touch, the beauty of Musetti’s backhand and comfort in all parts of the court, Alexander Bublik’s highly eclectic mix, Jack Draper’s flat drives, and, most successful of all, Alcaraz’s exceptionally wide array.

As they say in Paris, bon appetit. Wimbledon’s grass will hopefully elicit further strands of creativity from these and others.

5. A Sobering Spring for Four Veterans

Between them, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas have won 66 singles titles, reached eight major finals, and enjoyed extensive periods of time ranked inside the top ten. But Roland Garros proved frustrating for each of these longstanding contenders. Zverev’s tactical and mental limitations were massively exposed by Djokovic in their quarterfinal match. A clearly injured Ruud lost in the second round to Nuno Borges. Rublev was beaten comprehensively by Sinner in the round of 16. Though that puts Rublev in a large club of vanquished Sinner opponents, it’s also the kind of sobering result that leaves a veteran increasingly aware of how difficult it will be to go deep at a major. Tsitsipas’ slump continues, the man from Greece defeated in the second round by 167th-ranked Matteo Gigante, his earliest exit in Paris since 2018.

What’s it going to take for each member of this accomplished quartet to remain in contention?