How it unfolded
World No. 1 Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz met in a major final for the first time. Sinner took the first two sets 6-4, 7-6 and stood one set from a fourth major title. Alcaraz reclaimed the third 6-4 but Sinner still held the flow. In the fourth at 5-3 he reached 0-40 on Alcaraz's serve — three championship points. Alcaraz saved all three, held, broke Sinner, and won the tiebreak 7-3. At 6-6 in the fifth a Grand Slam 10-point match tiebreak decided it; Alcaraz won 10-2 in 5 hours 29 minutes, the longest Roland Garros final ever. At 22 he improved to 5–0 in major finals with a fifth title overall; Sinner lost his first major final. Sinner beat Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final a month later.
Why it still matters
The match confirmed what post–Big Three tennis looks like. Splitting eight majors in 2024–25, Alcaraz and Sinner built a new duopoly; this final showed their rivalry could carry Federer–Nadal or Djokovic–Nadal weight. Surviving three championship points over 5 hours 29 minutes became the reference point for every future meeting.