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A little over two years ago, Roger Federer decided to hang up his racquet. Last August, Andy Murray quit the sport after the Paris Olympics. Later the same year, Rafael Nadal decided that his tired body had had enough. And a couple of days ago, Novak Djokovic hinted that he might have just played his last match at Roland Garros, only adding to the disappointment of the legion of global tennis fans mourning these departures.
Marathon match
On Sunday, however, Italian Jannik Sinner, 23, and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 22, replaced this disappointment from most faces with a smile, if not for a shock-and-awe expression, given their five-hour, 29-minute masterclass in the French Open final. And at the end of the longest final in Roland Garros history it hardly mattered to most tennis purists who emerged as the winner, because amidst those deceptively accurate groundstrokes and looping returns was a clear message — the future of men’s tennis has found its flag-bearers.
Alcaraz eventually emerged triumphant, beating Sinner after a fifth-set 10-point tie-break 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) to successfully defend his French Open title.
India’s tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi, 51, has no doubt that Alcaraz and Sinner will be regular features of top-notch finales hereon. “Carlos and Jannik will carry world tennis ahead for the next 10-15 years at least,” Bhupathi, a doubles stalwart and winner of 12 Grand Slam titles, told mid-day over the phone from Dubai, on Monday.
“There were four in the previous generation [Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray came to be known as the Big Four in the tennis world given their consistency and success], but now there are these two. We were hoping there would be a third in [Denmark’s Holger] Rune, but it wasn’t to be. So, it’s these two and they are absolutely brilliant,” added Bhupathi.
Sinner was off the blocks in a flash on Court Philippe-Chatrier, grabbing the first two sets. Bhupathi admitted he did not expect the Spaniard to claw back from that. “Sinner started really well. The way he was playing his powerful groundstrokes so accurately, just inside the baseline, he was cramping Carlos for room. He just did not allow Carlos any space to play his shots. That’s how he went into that 2-0 lead after the first two sets. And to be honest, I did not think that Carlos would make such a comeback after he was two sets down,” said Bhupathi.
Brilliant comeback
Interestingly, Alcaraz was on a rallying spree. While battling back from two sets down, he also saved three Championship points en route when he 0-40 on serve and 3-5 down in the fourth set. Then, in Set 5, he gave up a 5-3 lead to allow Sinner to crawl back only to eventually pip him at the finish line. And throughout this phase, the Spanish ace was visibly enjoying it all, pumping his fist each time he fought back and even rattling off something to his coaching team in the stands.
At the end of their near-six hour superhuman effort, both athletes hardly seemed tired and it is this trait that will keep them in good stead for the future, felt Bhupathi. “That’s just fantastic fitness for you, and that’s the reason that these guys are up there because they can play for four-five hours consistently and so accurately. This is what Federer and Nadal had been doing for so many years. That’s why they are great,” Bhupathi concluded.
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