French Open 2025: New rivalry takes ‘final’ stage; Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz face off in their first major final

The Times of India at Roland Garros : The weather forecast for Roland Garros’ final on Sunday is a chilly northwesterly and a spot of sun. It might not make for the most welcoming of settings for a new generation of champions, but world No.1 Jannik Sinner and No.2 Carlos Alcaraz are unlikely to miss a beat when they clash for the first time in the title match of a major - the French Open final.

It is only fitting that tennis’ inspirational golden era dominated by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic has been followed onto centre stage by a duo, who have become the game’s talking point. Sinner, the 23-year-old Italian and Carlos Alcaraz, the 22-year-old Spaniard, who between them have won six of the last seven Grand Slams.

Alcaraz, the sweet-smiling, heavy-striking defending champion, leads the head-to-head 7-4, having won the pair’s last four meetings, including the final of the Rome Masters a little before the start of Roland Garros.

Born 21 months apart in Innichen, a municipality in northern Italy and El Palmar a village in Murcia, Spain, their stats tell the story of a duel that’s hard to pick. By claiming his 19th tour-level title in May, Alcaraz tied Sinner for the most among players born in the 2000s.

“I enjoy every time because I love that battle. But most of the time it is about suffering, because he push you to the limit,” Alcaraz said. “My favourite thing is these matches give you feedback for how you can be a better player.

I think that’s beautiful, even if I win or not.”

Sinner, always reined in, responded with a smile when asked if playing Alcaraz was fun. “When there is a good match, it’s not only to watch, but also to play, it’s very special,” the German-speaking Italian said. “The tension you feel before and during the match is a little bit different, because we are both very young, different but talented.”

Alcaraz outplayed Sinner in their last meeting, the Italian’s comeback tournament after serving a three-month ban for testing positive for Clostebol. “If you watch all the rivalries, they have all been tactical,” Sinner said, “It was the same in the semi-final, I felt like Novak was changing so many times the way he plays.”