Five weeks after their monumental duel at Roland Garros, expectations were understandably high at the prospect of the pair going at it again with the Wimbledon title on the line. But Paris, where Alcaraz fought back from a two-set deficit, saving three championship points to prevail after five hours and 29 minutes of extraordinary theatre, was inevitably a difficult act to follow.  

The encore was a relatively anticlimactic affair, high in quality but largely devoid of the tension and uncertainty that characterised the first instalment. If the French Open final was a wild rollercoaster ride, the follow-up in SW19 had a more Aristotelian quality, drama giving way to catharsis as Sinner exorcised memories of his ordeal on the Parisian clay with a clinical 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory. 

In securing his fourth grand slam title, and first away from the hard courts of Melbourne Park and Flushing Meadows, the 23-year-old ended a run of five straight defeats to Alcaraz and became the first Italian to lift a Wimbledon singles trophy. For a player who returned from a 12-week drugs suspension in early May after testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid that purportedly entered his system through a massage, it represents a remarkable turnaround.

“Very emotional, no, even if I don’t cry,” said Sinner, reflecting on the moments following victory, when he crouched low on the Centre Court grass, his head bowed as he tried to process the enormity of it all. “It feels emotional because only me and the people who are close to me know exactly what we have been through on and off the court, and it has been everything except easy. 

“We’ve tried to push, you know, every practice session, even [though] I was struggling at times mentally. Maybe even more in practice sessions, because I feel like when I play the match, I can switch off and just play. I believe that this helped me a lot. 

“To share this moment with my family here, my whole family here, it’s the most amazing thing that could have happened to me.”

It was nonetheless a curious match, entertaining yet strangely dissatisfying, the whole somehow less than the immaculately crafted parts. That owed much to the essentially linear nature of the contest, which was controlled by Sinner aside from an electric four-game passage in which Alcaraz rebounded from 4-2 down to win the opening set. If the momentum shifts of their French Open meeting were plotted on a graph, the pattern would have formed a zigzag, gentle at first and then ever more frenetic; here, the Italian’s first-set early blip aside, things proceeded more or less in a straight line. 

That is not to deny the excellence of the ball-striking from both men, or the mental steel Sinner exhibited in wresting back control after falling behind. But for once, Alcaraz failed to keep his end of the deal, failed to find that signature spark of inspiration; for once, he waved the wand only to find the magic wanting. He entered the stage as a two-time defending champion on a 24-match winning streak, but left it with his recent aura of invincibility punctured, if not his smile. 

It was a reminder that Alcaraz, who had won each of his five previous grand slam finals, is fallible after all. That he is not just a walking highlight reel. There are moments when the things he does on a tennis court appear almost otherworldly, yet rarely has he seemed more human than when he looked forlornly towards his box after being broken late in the third set, yelling in his native tongue: “He is playing much better than me.” 

“At some points I didn’t know what I had to do in the match, because from the baseline I was feeling he was better than me, and I couldn’t do anything about it,” Alcaraz later explained. “I think the big key was about the second serve. He was returning really well the second serve that I was hitting. 

“Thanks to that, he was in the position to attack the second ball every time. It is really difficult when you are feeling that you are just defending all the time and running from side to side.”

Alcaraz is still Alcaraz and inevitably, over the course of three hours and four minutes, he showed flashes of brilliance, not least in the latter stages of the first set. In the eighth game, he laid the foundations for a break with a combination of finesse and firepower, following up a gorgeous angled drop volley with a brutal baseline barrage, and he later showcased his peerless defensive skills to telling effect, converting his second set point with a brilliant, lunging backhand winner.

More often, though, the key moments belonged to Sinner. Serving to level the contest at a set apiece, the Italian bludgeoned a forehand down the line to bring up two set points before producing a sumptuous cross-court forehand on the dead run. Later, having engineered a break with a pair of brilliant returns that he backed up with approach shots of devastating accuracy and power, he served out the third set with dead-eyed ruthlessness. 

And at the death, when Sinner found himself two sets to love up and 5-3 ahead in the fourth, a lead identical to the one he had held in Paris, he refused to buckle, refused to listen to his inner demons or countenance the notion that history might repeat itself. Not even when Alcaraz, fighting to cling on to his title, served himself out of a hole at 15-30, a success he greeted with a gladiatorial roar towards his box. 

Instead, with the championship in his crosshairs, Sinner was hard as nails, his focus unwavering as he carved out a 40-0 lead before sending down one last service winner to convert his second match point and seal a first win over Alcaraz since his title run at the 2023 China Open. It was the work of a man with a granite mentality.

“Today’s match I think was a match of moments, of just who was going to step up in the big moment and make something happen,” said Darren Cahill, who coaches Sinner alongside Simone Vagnozzi. “At Roland Garros it was Carlos, and today it was Jannik.

“He came here and played with a real purpose. I think you could see from the first match he played that he wasn’t carrying any baggage from Roland Garros. That’s not easy to do. It’s easy for us to say that in words, to put it to one side. But for the player to wipe it away and be able to come here with the mentality that he had, is 100% credit to him.”

Grand slam titles are rarely won without fortune smiling favourably somewhere along the way, and for Sinner that moment came in the fourth round when Grigor Dimitrov, leading by two sets to love, was forced to retire with a pectoral injury. The Italian suffered an injury scare of his own in that match, jarring his right elbow in an early fall, and he wore a protective sleeve on his arm for the remainder of the tournament. But Sinner has become inured to adversity in recent times. 

“I had a tough loss in Paris,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter how you win or you lose. You just have to understand what you did wrong and you have to accept the loss and keep working. This is why I hold this trophy here.”

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Alcaraz has enjoyed a triumphant start to the summer, retaining his French Open title with an epic five-set win over Jannik Sinner before transitioning smoothly from Parisian clay to English grass to claim a second victory in three years at Queen’s Club. But a first-round meeting with Fabio Fognini was never likely to be a straightforward assignment, even allowing for the fact that the gifted Italian arrived at Wimbledon without a main-draw win at tour level this season, and Alcaraz was aware from the outset that it could be a challenging afternoon.

“I knew at the beginning it was going to be very difficult playing against Fabio,” said Alcaraz after claiming a 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory in blistering heat. “It doesn’t matter, his last year, his last tournaments, the talent that Fabio has is immense. In every match he can show his best tennis.” 

For four hours and 37 minutes, Fognini did just that, delving deep into the box of tricks that once earned him a place in the world’s top 10. He ran, he hustled, he harried. He flicked forehands to every corner of the court, often at full stretch and always with no discernible sign of effort. He knifed backhands loaded with slice and sidespin to Alcaraz’s forehand, forcing the Spaniard to pick the ball off his shoelaces. At one point he even turned southpaw, almost catching the champion off guard with a lunging left-handed forehand. 

Fognini is 38 now and he has indicated this will be his final season on tour. Wimbledon has never been the happiest of hunting grounds – this was his 15th visit and he has never been beyond round three – but what a swansong it was. So good, in fact, that the Italian said afterwards it might even have been the last match of his career. If so, he went out on a high.

That Alcaraz emerged unscathed was down to a combination of resilience, rapidly accumulated experience, and the sheer breadth of his options. He struggled with his serve, particularly early on, and made a whopping 62 unforced errors. But there are so many weapons in the Spaniard’s arsenal that even when one element of his game is misfiring – and at one point or another he stuttered in just about every area against Fognini – there is always something else to fall back on. Not least the extraordinary tenacity that also got him over the line against Sinner at Roland Garros earlier this month.

“I’m getting mature and I know how to deal with some situations,” said Alcaraz, who has been beaten just once in the 15 five-set matches he has contested so far in his career. “I always say that the champions always find a way. I really want to see myself in that [list] of champions. I really want to put myself like a champion that always finds a way to win. 

“I’ve been playing really, really tough matches the last year, the last year in this tournament. Just really proud that I always find a way. Today I did it, even though Fabio was playing great tennis. Just really proud to overcome the problem, to overcome the tough moments.”

Alcaraz’s epic win puts him in distinguished company. Roger Federer memorably fought back from two sets to love down against Alejandro Falla in 2010, while Pete Sampras held firm in the fifth set against Britain’s Barry Cowan in 2001. Going further back, Bjorn Borg pulled off several Houdini-like acts of escapology during his run of five straight titles, overcoming a two-set deficit against Mark Edmondson in 1977, recovering from two sets to one down against Victor Amaya the following year, and overturning a similar deficit against Vijay Amritraj in 1979. 

Even after winning two titles in SW19, Alcaraz has a way to go before matching that trio – between them, Federer, Sampras and Borg were crowned champions on no fewer than 19 occasions – but this will nonetheless go down as a worthy addition to the catalogue of great escapes. Amid all his achievements – five majors, seven Masters 1000 titles, youngest world No 1 in rankings history, the list goes on – it is easy to forget that the Spaniard is still a relative newcomer to the tournament. This year marks his fifth visit, and against Fognini he was opening the Centre Court programme as defending champion for only the second time. Understandably, there were nerves.

“It feels like it was the first time,” said Alcaraz, who has now won his past 19 matches. “It doesn’t matter, the winning streak that I have right now, that I’ve been playing great on grass, that I have been preparing really well the week before. Wimbledon is different. 

“I could feel today that I was really nervous at the beginning. Being the first match on Centre Court, it’s a huge privilege for me. Even though I played the first match last year, it feels [like] the first time. I just try to deal with the nerves the best way possible.”

Alcaraz can draw comfort from the knowledge that he is not alone. In weathering an early storm on the Centre Court grass, he has trodden a path familiar to many a past champion; few would be surprised if it led him to a third title.

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In a match-up that drew a ripple of mischievous amusement as it was announced at the conclusion of Friday morning’s draw, Alcaraz will begin his quest for a third successive crown against Fabio Fognini, the gifted but unpredictable Italian whose languid shot-making belies a notoriously fiery disposition.

Fognini has hinted that this is likely to be his final year on the tour and, while it would be stretching it to suggest an upset could be on the cards, the 38-year-old will undoubtedly relish the prospect of facing a big name on Centre Court in what may be his last match at Wimbledon. The pair have met twice previously, both times on red clay in Rio de Janeiro, with Alcaraz winning on each occasion. 

The Spanish second seed is projected to face Holger Rune of Denmark in the quarter-finals, with either Alexander Zverev, the German world No 3, or Taylor Fritz, the fifth seed, barring his path to another final. 

Krejcikova, meanwhile, was drawn against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, the 20-year-old left-hander whose breakout run to the semi-finals of the Miami Open earlier this year included victories over Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek. The 74th-ranked Eala, who has made encouraging progress on grass ahead of her main draw debut at Wimbledon, will cross swords with Australian teenager Maya Joint for the Eastbourne Open title on Saturday.

It represents a tough start for Krejcikova, who has barely played since the turn of the year due to a back injury and withdrew from her scheduled Eastbourne quarter-final against Varvara Gracheva this week with a thigh problem, raising further doubts about her fitness. The 29-year-old Czech, currently ranked 17th, defeated Jasmine Paolini in last year’s Wimbledon final to claim her second grand slam title following her French Open victory of four years ago. 

Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, will open her challenge against Carson Branstine, a 24-year-old Canadian qualifier. The 27-year-old Belarusian could meet former champion Marketa Vondrousova, who defeated her in straights sets in the semi-finals of the Berlin Open last weekend, in round three. Sabalenka is projected to face Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion, in the last eight, with either Paolini or Qinwen Zheng, the Olympic champion and fifth seed, potentially awaiting in the semi-finals.

In the lower half of the draw, second seed Coco Gauff will begin her campaign against the 42nd-ranked Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine and could play former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka in round two. 

Gauff, 21, is expected to face Swiatek in the last eight – although the Pole, who opens against Polina Kudermetova, may first have to get past either Danielle Collins or Marta Kostyuk in the third round, followed by Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion. The American, who won her second major title at the French Open earlier this month, is seeded to meet fellow countrywoman Jessica Pegula, who starts against Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy, in the last four.

Elsewhere in the men’s draw, top seed Jannik Sinner opens against Luca Nardi and is expected to meet another Italian opponent, Lorenzo Musetti, in the last eight. Sinner could then be in line for a reunion with Novak Djokovic, who defeated him in the semi-finals two years ago. First, though, Djokovic may need to see off Britain’s Jack Draper, the fourth seed, who gave the seven-time champion an opening-round scare on his main draw debut in 2021. 

With his thunderous southpaw serve and heavy forehand, Draper would seem to have a game ideally suited to grass. But the 23-year-old, who will be carrying the hopes of the home nation despite never previously going beyond round two in three visits to SW19, has been handed an onerous draw. Following an opening-round assignment against Sebastián Báez, the world No 38, Draper could meet former finalist Marin Cilic, followed by Alexander Bublik – who defeated him at the French Open earlier this month and won the Halle Open on grass last weekend – and the rising Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.

Emma Raducanu, who aggravated a lingering back injury during her recent quarter-final run at Queen’s Club, has been handed a similarly difficult path. The former US Open champion, who reached the fourth for the second time last year, begins against 17-year-old wildcard Mimi Xu, a former British national junior champion. Assuming she survives unscathed, Raducanu will face either the resurgent Vondrousova, who won the Berlin Open title last week, or the American 32nd seed McCartney Kessler – followed, in all likelihood, by Sabalenka.

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The nugget of wisdom bequeathed to Carlos Alcaraz by his grandfather, and tattooed in shorthand on his left wrist, has never felt more pertinent than it did on Sunday at Roland Garros, where the 22-year-old Spaniard saved three championship points against Jannik Sinner, the Italian world No 1, to win the longest French Open final in history.

Having divided the past six majors equally between them, the pair have already inherited the mantle of the Big Three. But their epic first meeting in a grand slam final brought vibrant confirmation that tennis has a life beyond Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, with Alcaraz recovering from two sets to love down for the first time in his career to prevail in a fifth-set tiebreak after five hours and 29 minutes of pure theatre. 

In staving off three match points, Alcaraz achieved a feat not seen in the men’s game since 1927, when Henri Cochet came within a point of defeat on six occasions before finally prevailing against fellow “French musketeer” Jean Borotra in five sets. 

That statistic alone is indicative of the historic nature of what was undoubtedly the greatest comeback in a grand slam final since the open era began in 1968. Djokovic saved two match points to deny Federer a 21st major at Wimbledon in 2019, but the most obvious point of comparison came in 2004, when Gastón Gaudio prevailed in an all-Argentine Roland Garros final, likewise saving a pair of championship points after dropping the first two sets against Guillermo Coria. 

That, though, was a nervous, cramp-ridden affair; this was tennis of an entirely different order. In the first French Open final to be decided by a final-set tiebreak, Alcaraz initially found Sinner every bit as impenetrable as the Italian’s previous 20 grand slam opponents. Yet the Spaniard somehow summoned the will and the level to force a decider in which Sinner displayed extraordinary reserves of physical and mental fortitude, defying cramp and then defying Alcaraz, who served for the title at 5-4, to take the contest down to the wire. 

Only at the death was Alcaraz finally able to pull clear, the defending champion riding the momentum from a jaw-dropping backhand pass in his final service game to produce a near-flawless exhibition of shot-making in the climactic tiebreak. A brilliant running forehand sealed a victory for the ages, 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (10-2), and sent rapturous observers scurrying for superlatives, with some even comparing the match to the 1980 and 2008 Wimbledon finals between, respectively, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe and Nadal-Federer.

“If people put our match in that table, it’s a huge honour for me,” said Alcaraz after sealing his fifth grand slam title. “I don’t know if it is at the same level as those matches because those matches are, you know, the history of tennis and the history of the sport. So I let people talk about it, if for them [the matches] are almost the same. 

“But for me, watching from outside or realising what that match is in the history of tennis, I don’t know if our match is in the same table as them. But [I’m] just happy to put our match and our names in the history of the grand slams, in the history of Roland Garros. I [leave] the discussion to the people.”

So what of that discussion? The drama of the denouement was undeniable, and both men produced some majestic tennis. For two sets, Sinner was almost unplayable; by the end, it was Alcaraz who was untouchable. Yet it should also be acknowledged that, until the latter stages, they rarely played their best tennis at the same time. As Sinner marched into a seemingly unassailable lead, suffocating Alcaraz with the quality of his serving and deep, central returns, which denied the Spaniard the angles on which he thrives, the heightened sense of anticipation surrounding the contest dwindled. 

Put it this way: had Sinner gone on to seal the title in four sets, the match would never have been mentioned in the same breath as Borg-McEnroe 1980 or Federer-Nadal 2008, both of which featured genre-defining fourth-set tiebreaks in which match points were saved and individual points forever seared in the memory. The equivalent shootout here was relatively devoid of jeopardy, two of Sinner’s three points coming early, and from unforced errors. 

Instead, the pivotal moments came when Sinner made three straight errors with Alcaraz serving at 3-5, 0-40. Duly emboldened, the Spaniard slammed down an ace, smoked a forehand down the line, and cupped a hand to his ear, drinking in the acclaim of a crowd desperate to see more. Alcaraz duly obliged, breaking with some scintillating all-court play, and from that moment on the fascination became whether he could finish what he had started, staging a repeat of his comeback from a similarly parlous position against Sinner at the 2022 US Open.

So while the score might have evoked memories of those classic Wimbledon finals, the context was as different as the surface and the protagonists; a new match, for a new generation. And perhaps that is as it should be: not every chapter in the sport’s evolution has to echo the previous one, as Sinner pointed out.

“I think every rivalry is different, no?” Sinner said of the contest’s place in the pantheon. “Back in the days, they played a little bit different tennis. Now, you know, the ball is going fast. It’s very physical. It’s slightly different from my point of view, you cannot compare.”

Everyone will have their own opinion, of course, and many of the sport’s luminaries were in no doubt about what they were seeing. 

“They’re playing at a pace that’s not human,” enthused TV pundit and three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander. “Insane level,” Stan Wawrinka declared on social media. McEnroe even suggested both men would have been favourites against peak Nadal – proof, if nothing else, that the American analyst’s aptitude for going too far burns as bright as it did in his playing days. But Alcaraz probably had it about right when he remarked that, good as the match was, he’d seen better.

“To say it was one of the greatest finals in the history of the grand slams, it’s really high status,” he told TNT Sports. “I have to say that there have been better finals. I’m going to say one: Novak [Djokovic] against Rafa [Nadal], the final of the Australian Open [in 2012]. That level of final is pretty high. In history, there have been better finals I guess. But I’m just really happy to put my name into one of the best finals, the longest finals, here in Roland Garros.”  

Few could have guessed what was coming in the early stages. While Sinner was clinical, Alcaraz seemed to be all out of the stardust he normally sprinkles on these occasions. Even when he won the third set it felt more like a gesture of defiance, a minor skirmish won, than the start of a more wholesale turnaround. 

While Alcaraz’s spirit was admirable, it was still difficult to imagine Sinner letting the match slip. The Italian’s serve dipped markedly in that middle set – he won just 44% of points behind his first delivery, compared with 70% for the match as a whole – and the likelihood remained that he would find a solution.

True, the flashes of brilliance from Alcaraz’s racket were becoming more frequent. But the defending champion was still overpressing, trying to force the play rather than construct points with an endgame in mind. A case in point came at the start of the third, when a searing crosscourt forehand fell narrowly wide, costing him a break. Alcaraz gestured frustratedly to his box, evidently mystified by the imprecision of his baseline bombs. 

By the latter stages of the decider, however, the Spaniard was beginning to hit his targets with ominous frequency. There was a setback when he failed to serve out the match at 5-4, but that was mainly because Sinner threw the kitchen sink at him.

The Italian had never previously won a match spanning more than three hours and 50 minutes. Yet, despite showing signs of cramp early in the set, he came within two points of doing so with Alcaraz serving at 5-6, 15-30. It was an incredible effort, given this was just his second tournament after a three-month drug ban, but Alcaraz remained immovable.

Only Borg and Nadal have won five grand slam titles at a younger age, a timeline all the more remarkable for the fact that he reached that milestone at 22 years, one month and three days – exactly the same age Nadal was when he achieved the same feat. 

“I have to realise that I’ve done it, I think that’s the first step,” Alcaraz said of that unlikely conjunction. “The coincidence of winning my fifth grand slam at the same age as Rafa Nadal, I’m going to say that’s destiny, I guess. 

“It is a stat that I’m going to keep for me forever, winning the fifth grand slam at the same time as Rafa, my idol, my inspiration. It’s a huge honour, honestly. You know, hopefully it’s not going to stop like this.”

After the greatest comeback in living memory, that seems unlikely. Alcaraz showed the mental strength to keep fighting when all looked lost, the spirit to work his way back into contention, and the courage to play his best tennis when the need was greatest. Head, heart, cojones: just like his grandfather always told him.

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That things have not quite worked out that way has been largely down to circumstance. Both men have continued to produce the extraordinary level they showcased that night in New York. Between them, they have won seven of the 10 grand slam finals contested since, but none of those titles have been won in direct competition with each other, with the duo yet to cross swords at the climax of a major.

Sinner’s fourth-round win at Wimbledon in 2022, and Alcaraz’s five-set semi-final victory at last year’s French Open, are their only other grand slam meetings to date.

That will surely change in time – and perhaps sooner rather than later, given that the pair will be seeded to contest the final of the French Open, which begins in Paris a week from now. In the meantime, though, the 11th instalment of their rivalry, in Sunday’s final of the Rome Masters, offered ample food for thought.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that Sinner is still only nine days into his return from a three-month doping ban, it was not a vintage encounter. For all the tension of a first set in which little separated the pair, the Italian faded markedly after falling behind, while Alcaraz curbed his natural instinct to entertain in favour of a more tactically disciplined approach. 

It made for a contest high on quality and intensity but low on drama, certainly in comparison with their best encounters. Once Alcaraz fended off two set points to force a first-set tiebreak, any sense of jeopardy quickly drained from the match, the Spaniard seizing control of the ensuing shootout with a mini-break and a pair of thunderous aces. From there, Sinner was always playing catch-up, Alcaraz completing his 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory with something to spare.

It was Alcaraz’s fourth straight success against the Italian world No 1. Following his win at last month’s Monte Carlo Masters, the 22-year-old becomes the first man to win multiple clay-court titles at this level since his compatriot Rafael Nadal in 2018. He is also the first to beat Sinner since last October, when the Italian responded to defeat by Alcaraz in the China Open final by embarking on a 26-match winning streak. 

It means Alcaraz will arrive in Paris not only as the defending champion, but as the man to beat; seeded second, but in pole position to claim his fifth grand slam title. 

“Today was a great level, I think for both of us, especially the first set,” said Alcaraz after sealing the win in an hour and 29 minutes. “I knew at the beginning, the matches against Jannik are always really tactical. I think today I started the match really well.

“Tactically, [from] the beginning till the last ball, I didn’t lose focus, which is great for me. [It’s] probably one of the best matches I played so far in terms of level, maintaining the level during the whole match. So I’m just really proud about that.

“Winning tournaments, lifting trophies, gives you a lot of confidence coming to the next tournaments. Masters 1000s give you a lot of confidence in yourself, just to know that you are on the right path, in the right way, playing great tennis. I’m just excited about what’s to come for me. 

“I’m doing the right things, and I’m going to keep doing the right things, the right work, coming to Paris.”

For the returning Sinner, it was perhaps a match too far. His triumphant progress to the final, soundtracked by the feverish adulation of an adoring home crowd, included a clinical evisceration of two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud, against whom he dropped just one game, and a battling victory over Tommy Paul in the last four, where he also had to contend with a tight hamstring.

Despite his inability to complete a clean sweep of the singles titles, following Jasmine Paolini’s emphatic win over Coco Gauff in Saturday’s women’s final, Sinner can reflect with satisfaction on a fine week’s work. 

“After three months [out], coming here, making this result, means a lot to me, a lot to my team also,” said Sinner. “We worked a lot to be here.

“For sure there are some things like we saw today what we have to improve if we want to do good in Paris. I am closer than expected in a way. But in the other way, it was good. 

“It was a great week for me. Some matches incredibly well, some matches could be better. But this is tennis. It’s a lot of ups and downs.”

There have been plenty of those for Sinner in the nine months since it emerged that he twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol last spring. 

An independent panel accepted his explanation that the failed tests were caused by contamination from a bare-handed massage by his physio, who had used an over-the-counter treatment containing clostebol. Free to continue competing after the panel concluded that Sinner “bore no fault or negligence”, he went on to win a maiden US Open title before a successful defence of his Australian Open crown took his tally of majors to three.

But after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which accepted Sinner’s explanation but insisted he should bear some responsibility for the incident, the Italian reluctantly agreed to a ban running from 9 February to 4 May. 

An arrangement that allowed Sinner to return to the game in time for the next grand slam – and in his home country, no less, where he has predictably been afforded a hero’s welcome – was understandably deemed a little too convenient by many observers.

Yet the ice has been broken, and Sinner can head to Roland Garros confident in the knowledge that he has been accepted back into the fold, and reassured that his tennis remains at the level required to challenge for the biggest prizes.

Even so, it will be fascinating to see how he is received by the famously fickle Parisian crowd. On Sunday, he was greeted by a sea of orange hats and serenaded with chants of “Olè, olè, olè, olè, Sin-ner, Sin-ner”, just as he has been all week; at Roland Garros, where the locals may find something comfortingly familiar about a Spanish champion weaving his magic on the red clay, Alcaraz can expect the support to be more evenly divided.

That he was able to enter the lion’s den at the Foro Italico and emerge unscathed can only give Alcaraz confidence. His run of success against Sinner notwithstanding, the Spaniard remains wary of the danger posed by his contemporary. 

“It doesn’t matter that he was out of the tour for three months,” said Alcaraz. “Every tournament he’s playing, he plays great. The numbers are there. I mean, he wins almost every match he plays. 

“That’s why I’m even more focused when I play against him. If I don’t play at my best, 10 out of 10, it’s going to be impossible to beat him. That’s why I’m more focused when I’m playing against him, or I feel a little bit different when I’m going to face him than [when I face] other players. 

“He has that aura. When you see him at the other side of the net, it’s kind of different. That’s why obviously I’m feeling that the people are putting so much – how can I say – pressure, in a certain way, to both of us when we are facing each other. 

“I feel like it’s a different energy when we are facing against each other.”

If they meet again in Paris, they will bring that energy to a grand slam final for the first time. it is a contest the world longs to see.

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That became apparent behind the scenes at the ATP Finals in Turin where, in the moments before Alcaraz’s opening group match against Casper Ruud, Ferrero turned to the 25-year-old Norwegian and fixed him with a lingering stare. 

If it was an attempt to unnerve the opposition, it could hardly have failed more comprehensively. The imperturbable Ruud looked up long enough to notice he was being eyeballed but, once the action started, he did not look back, stunning an out-of-sorts Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5 to claim his first win in five meetings with the Spanish third seed. 

Having fended off a pair of early break points, Ruud, a finalist at the season-ending championships two years ago, rapidly seized control of the contest, reeling off five straight games to seal the opening set in just 35 minutes.

If that defied the predictions of most pundits, normal service appeared to be restored when Alcaraz swept into a 5-2 second-set lead. But worse was to come for the four-time grand slam champion as Ruud, who arrived in northern Italy with just two wins since the US Open, defied the form book with another extraordinary five-game run that he hailed as a potential catalyst for a strong end to the season.

“This year I’m coming into the tournament with probably the least confidence of all the players in terms of match wins and my recent form, especially on indoor hard courts,” said Ruud.  “It has not been easy to find match wins at all for me; I’ve been joking, saying that maybe I can save them all for this week.

 “I’m not full of confidence, I think that’s been showing in the last weeks. A match like today might be able to change it. We’re at the end of the season, so there aren’t going to be that many more tournaments coming up. If I can finish on a strong note here, I’m going to be really happy.”

Ruud’s first win over a top-three opponent on a hard court was helped by an error-strewn performance from his opponent. Alcaraz finished the afternoon with 34 unforced errors and admitted afterwards that he had felt the effects of an illness he picked up after returning to Murcia following his loss to Ugo Humbert at the Paris Masters last month.

“A few days before coming here, I got sick at home,” said Alcaraz. “The days that I was practising here, I was feeling OK. Not pretty good, but OK, I could play. I could feel that I can get into the rallies in practice.

“Obviously, the matches are totally different. But today I didn’t feel well. In the morning, I felt uncomfortable in the stomach. After long rallies today, I didn’t feel well. I don’t want to say [this], because I don’t want to sound like an excuse – but if I feel bad, I feel bad. It is what happened today.”

Whatever his physical state, however, Alcaraz is still Alcaraz, and Ruud needed to have his wits about him throughout in order to claim his 50th win of the season. The world No 7 showed courage and resilience to survive three break points in the fourth game of the opener, twice outlasting Alcaraz from the baseline and then slotting away a backhand volley before some fine serving propelled him to a vital hold.

As Ruud acknowledged, his task was made none the easier by his awareness that Alcaraz was struggling physically, knowledge he did his utmost to exploit.

“I knew he was dealing with a bit of a cold, Carlos, I’ve seen him snuffling around, always with a tissue for his nose,” said Ruud. “That’s a sign that physically he won’t be necessarily at 100%, and of course that’s sad, and that’s not good for him, but it’s also at the same time part of the game. 

“I knew it coming in, I tried to make him play rallies and did my best, but it’s not easy, because when you know someone is not 100% maybe you get stressed yourself and think, ‘Oh, this is a big chance for me to maybe win.’ So I just tried to stay in my world, in the moment.”

A key moment came with Alcaraz served for the second set at 5-3, Ruud pulling off a magical topspin lob to bring up two break points, the first of which he converted after once again out-steadying the struggling Spaniard.

In the evening match, second seed Alexander Zverev saw off Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4. 

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After the setbacks of late summer, when he was defeated in the Olympic final and went on to suffer an early loss at the US Open, the 21-year-old Spaniard capped a resurgent week in Beijing by defeating Jannik Sinner, the defending champion, to win the China Open.

Matches between Alcaraz and Sinner rarely disappoint, and this breathless, seesaw encounter was no exception. In an absorbing final of high drama and countless twists and turns, the Italian world No 1 staged a masterclass in escapology, hauling himself off the canvas time and again before Alcaraz, who started and finished the contest in electrifying form, finally prevailed 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

In a year when the pair have divvied up the four major championships, Alcaraz has won on each of the three occasions they have met, edging 6-4 ahead in their personal rivalry with victories in Indian Wells, Paris and now Beijing. That trio of showdowns all went the distance, however, and there remains precious little between them. 

Over the course of an enthralling three hours and 21 minutes, Sinner fended off a dozen break points, recovered from 5-2 down to win the opener – although only after saving three set points – and then clawed his way back from a break down in the decider to move within two points of victory. None of it was enough to prevent Alcaraz from becoming the first player to win an ATP 500 tournament on all three surfaces, following his victories on the clay courts of Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona, on grass at Queen’s Club last year, and now on the slick hard courts of Beijing’s Olympic tennis centre. 

“I’m proud about myself with everything I’ve done the last month, working really hard physically, on the court as well,” said Alcaraz after securing his fourth title of the season with a ninth straight win.

“It has been an intense month, but [I’m] really happy to end it with the trophy here in Beijing, with a really incredible match. I think both of us showed a really high level of tennis, a high level mentally, physically, until the last ball, running from side to side, showing really good rallies, really good points in the tiebreak of the third.”

In that climactic shootout, Alcaraz underlined his late-season resurgence with an extraordinary final flourish, erasing a 3-0 advantage for Sinner as he reeled off seven consecutive points with his wing-heeled court coverage, incisive volleying and laser-like forehands. It was the clearest indication yet that the French Openand Wimbledon champion is back to his very best.

The 21-year-old never really went away, of course, yet this still felt like a restorative victory, both personally and for the sport as a whole. 

On the one hand, in claiming his first title since Wimbledon, Alcaraz ensured that a summer of glory at Roland Garros and the All England Club did not fade into a winter of discontent following his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Olympic final. That setback, which left him devastated, was swiftly followed by surprise early losses to Gaël Monfils in Cincinnati and Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open. But having steadied the ship with strong showings for Spain in the Davis Cup and a pivotal role in Team Europe’s Laver Cup victory, a win that snapped Sinner’s 15-match unbeaten run marked a welcome return to form.

“I started to get the joy back playing the matches, practising, I got motivated again,” said Alcaraz, who has been beaten just once in nine meetings with top-five opposition this season. “I really wanted to travel, to play tournaments again. 

“After the American swing, I was a little bit down, I didn’t want to touch a racket for a while. I didn’t want to travel, let’s say. I talked a lot [to my team] during those days, knowing that I have to be back practising, be stronger physically, be stronger mentally just to overcome on those problems. 

“The last month, we’ve been working really, really hard on the court, off the court, just to be able to feel this moment again.”

Those who have questioned the handling of Sinner’s recent brush with the anti-doping authorities are likely to be equally heartened by Alcaraz’s win. The Italian’s campaign in Beijing began with news that the World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed against the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s decision to clear him of wrongdoing after he failed two drug tests in March, raising the possibility that the 23-year-old could be banned for up to two years. While Sinner showed admirable resolve in putting the issue to one side as he advanced to the final – a run that included gritty three-set wins over Nicolás Jarry and Roman Safiullin – Djokovic voiced the feelings of many when he suggested the case was doing the sport few favours.

“I think it’s quite obvious that we have a system that is not working well,” said Djokovic, speaking ahead of the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, where Alcaraz and Sinner will begin their respective campaigns at the weekend. “That’s probably something that even the people who are not following our sport are realising. There’s way too many inconsistencies, way too many governing bodies involved, and this whole case is not helping our sport at all. 

“It must be very tough for him, and his team and family. Hopefully, we can go back to tennis… these circumstances are not positive for our sport, so hopefully we can resolve this case as soon as possible.”

The frustration, for all who hold the sport dear, is that we cannot simply sit back and enjoy the wondrous shot-making and athleticism of a rivalry that, all things being equal, promises to sustain the men’s game for years to come – at least, not without harbouring fears about what lies ahead. 

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That is to take nothing away from Botic van de Zandschulp, who delivered a performance of rare quality, poise and determination to consign the third seed and bookmakers’ favourite to a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 defeat at Flushing Meadows. The 28-year-old Dutchman made a mockery of the fact that he had previously failed to win two consecutive main draw matches at tour level this year.

Yet Alcaraz was a shadow of the player who arrived in New York seeking to follow Rod Laver and Rafael Nadal into the record books by becoming only the third man in the open era to win at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows in the same calendar year. In truth, he has not resembled that player since losing the Olympic men’s singles final to Novak Djokovic. Between that defeat, which left the 21-year-old devastated, and his surprise opening-round loss to Gaël Monfils in Cincinnati less than a fortnight later, Alcaraz has lost three of his past four matches. While he rightly refused to take credit away from Van de Zandschulp, the Spaniard acknowledged that it has been a long summer.

“The tennis schedule is so tight,” said Alcaraz. “I’ve been playing a lot of matches lately with Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Olympics. I took a little break after the Olympics. I thought it was enough. It was really helpful for me. Probably it wasn’t enough.

“I came here without as much energy as I thought I was going to come with. But I don’t want to use that as an excuse. It’s so tight. I’m a player who needs more days or more of a break coming into the big tournaments and important ones. I have to think about it and learn about it.”

An uncharacteristically flat display supported that analysis. While Alcaraz looked fresh enough physically, his shot selection and inconsistency offered clear evidence of mental fatigue. The warning signs were there as early as the Spaniard’s opening service game, where he went for a spectacular tweener at 30-30 when a deep defensive lob would potentially have allowed him to reset the point. Facing a break point, Alcaraz sent a regulation backhand long, one of 27 unforced errors he would make on a night when he frequently looked lost.

A signature feature of Alcaraz’s success has been his ability to adjust tactically, to solve problems on the fly by relying on his all-court virtuosity. For once, though, the magical shot-making that so often ignites crowds and creates irresistible momentum was largely absent. Instead, it was Van de Zandschulp who dictated with his forehand; who delighted with eye-catching defensive play; who dominated at the net. Alcaraz was effectively beaten at his own game, never more so than when Van de Zandschulp pulled off a stunning half-volley winner at full stretch midway through the third set. Alcaraz lacked the clarity of mind to find a solution.

“It was a fight against myself in my mind during the match,” said the Spaniard. “In tennis, you are playing against someone that wants the same as you: to win. You have to be as calm as you can, to think better in the match and try to do good things. Today, I was playing against the opponent as well as myself in my mind. A lot of emotions I couldn’t control. I was up in some points, then I’d lose some points and get down. It was a rollercoaster in my mind. It can’t be like that if I want to think about [winning] big things. I have to improve it.”

It is tempting to wonder whether the easiest way to do so would have been to take a leaf out of Djokovic’s book by resisting the temptation to play a warm-up event so soon after the emotional maelstrom of the Olympics. The manner in which Alcaraz obliterated a racket during his loss to Monfils in Cincinnati hardly spoke of a player ready to repeat his swashbuckling US Open title run of two years ago.

This was Alcaraz’s earliest defeat at a major since 2021, when he was bundled out of Wimbledon in round two by Daniil Medvedev. Yet, while it will go down as one of the biggest upsets of recent times at Flushing Meadows, a letdown at some point in this marathon summer was probably inevitable.

Consider the evidence. After returning from a forearm injury to win the French Open for the first time in early June, Alcaraz had just eight days to recover and adjust to grass before opening his short-lived title defence at Queen’s Club. He went on to become only the sixth man in the open era to complete the “Channel double” of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but once again there was barely time to savour the achievement. Less than a fortnight later, Alcaraz was back at Roland Garros for the Olympics, where he played nine matches in nine days in singles and doubles. That left just 11 days to make the transition to hard courts in preparation for Cincinnati. It is a tribute to the efforts of his support team that he has managed to avoid injury.

While there is nothing new about the unforgiving demands of an Olympic summer, the cumulative toll of such a schedule – physically, mentally and emotionally – should not be underestimated. And while Alcaraz might be a victim of his own success, it is not only the elite who are affected by the sport’s jam-packed calendar. Mackenzie McDonald, the American world No 140, recently alluded to the difficulty of streamlining the structure of a sport with seven competing governing bodies, and the damage that the continuing failure to do so causes throughout the tennis food chain.

“The tours are not united enough to collaborate without egos and money getting involved,” McDonald told the Associated Press. “The players are absolutely getting crushed in so many ways – physically, mentally, financially. Having a normal life? We’re far from it. And then actually getting what we deserve, especially at the slams? It’s sad. I’ll put it that way.”

Iga Swiatek, the women’s world No 1, has complained that the concerns of players are going unheeded, while Holger Rune, who became another high-profile casualty when he was defeated by Brandon Nakashima in the opening round, has complained that the sport is “almost ongoing, 24/7”. When the sport’s most marketable young stars are falling so early – Rune came into the tournament carrying a knee injury that he felt unable to rest – questions need to be asked, recurring though the refrain may be.

Disillusioned by injuries and poor form, Van de Zandschulp nearly disembarked from the revolving carousel altogether after losing to Fabio Fognini in the opening round of this year’s French Open. It is not an option either man will be considering any time soon, but for Alcaraz a period of rest and recuperation seems needful.

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And now, he has it all. 

The 37-year-old Serbian, winner of 24 grand slam titles, 40 Masters 1000 events and just about every other honour or record worth mentioning, defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) at Roland Garros to claim the one thing he didn’t have: an Olympic gold medal.

After almost three hours of spellbinding, gladiatorial tennis, Djokovic delivered a last magisterial forehand to conclude a tiebreak that had been full of them, then turned to his family in the stands in a semi-crouch, his arms spread, before burying his head in his hands. Soon he was up in the stands celebrating with them, although not before offering Alcaraz a consolatory embrace and then dropping to his knees on the court, salt tears mingling with red clay.

Djokovic had good cause to be emotional. Some of the best players in history have finished their careers with notable gaps on their résumés. Ken Rosewall and Ivan Lendl both won eight majors, but neither tasted success at Wimbledon. Bjorn Borg lost four US Open finals. Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras could not win the French Open. And in his own gilded era, Djokovic was the odd man out among the big four – himself, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray – in not owning an Olympic gold medal (even if Federer’s was won in doubles).

Not any more. Now Djokovic has the one, last prize he coveted – and, with it, membership of the most exclusive club in tennis. Only Nadal, Andre Agassi, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf have previously won a career golden slam of all four majors plus Olympic gold. Now Djokovic joins that elite group, the oldest man to win gold since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988. His victory, which he described as the greatest of his career, is all the more remarkable for coming just two months after he underwent knee surgery.

“I won the bronze in my first Olympic Games [in Beijing in 2008] and ever since then failed to win the medal,” said Djokovic, reflecting on an Olympic journey that has included defeats to Nadal in 2008, Juan Martín del Potro at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and Alexander Zverev at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games of 2021. 

“[I] played three out of four Olympic Games in semi-finals and couldn’t overcome that obstacle. And then now at age 37, with a 21-year-old that is probably the best player in the world right now, winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back and playing incredible tennis.

“When I take everything into consideration, this probably is the biggest sporting success I’ve ever had in my career.”

As always with the Olympics, the significance of victory ranged beyond purely personal achievement. Djokovic’s love of Serbia runs deep. When he led his country to a maiden Davis Cup win in 2010, he had just one grand slam title; by the end of the following year, he had won a further three. But if success with Serbia was the catalyst for his historic rise, it has also been a millstone at the Olympics, where his litany of setbacks seemed to stem largely from just wanting it too much. Victory over Alcaraz brought sensations that even he has not previously experienced.

“Until today, I thought that carrying the Serbian flag at the 2012 opening ceremony in London is the best feeling that an athlete could have,” said Djokovic. “This kind of supersedes everything that I imagined, that I hoped that I could experience and that I could feel.”

For Alcaraz, who fought off all six break points he faced, matching Djokovic step for step until he was suffocated by the Serb in the tiebreaks, it was the toughest of defeats to take. He has risen to the occasion in each of the four grand slam finals he has contested so far in his career, and here again he was not found wanting. It was simply his misfortune to run into Djokovic on a stage where the ageing champion could no longer afford to be denied. Like Iga Swiatek following her shock semi-final loss to Qinwen Zheng, Alcaraz struggled to retain his composure in the immediate aftermath of defeat, breaking off a broadcast interview with Eurosport’s Alex Corretja to wipe away tears.

“It’s a little bit different,” Alcaraz later explained, comparing his Olympic experience with playing other major finals. “I was playing for the gold medal, I was playing for Spain, and it is not the same. I have played four grand slam finals and in the difficult moments, in the tough situations, I increased my level, I played really great tennis.

“Today, probably I felt more the pressure. Maybe other players are not playing in the same way or feeling the pressure about playing for his flag, for his country. Probably myself, I felt the pressure in those situations [to the point where] I couldn’t play my best tennis. So I could feel the difference about playing grand slams and playing the final of Olympic Games.”

It is a distinction with which Djokovic is all too familiar, and the way he went about his business made it clear he had no appetite to explore it further. In a match of unrelenting intensity and brilliant shot-making from both men, Alcaraz fashioned eight break points, five of which came as he pushed for a breakthrough in the ninth game of the opener. But Djokovic saved them all, hitting his spots time and again, following his serve to the net, constantly keeping the younger man on his toes. 

Djokovic would show similar resilience in the tiebreak that followed, chasing every ball, closing down the net with urgency and intent, and finally lunging to seal the opener with an immaculate drop volley. By the time the second tiebreak came around, Djokovic was ripping forehands with abandon, determined that the prize he has yearned after for so long would not escape him again.

“I don’t know what to say, I’m still in shock,” said Djokovic. “I put my heart, my soul, my body, my family, my everything on the line to win Olympic gold at age 37. Finally, I did it.”

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Djokovic, three of whose 24 grand slam titles have come on the Parisian clay, will begin his quest to make good the only significant omission from his trophy cabinet against Australia’s Matthew Ebden. It will be the 37-year-old’s fifth Olympic campaign, with his best return so far the bronze medal he won in Beijing in 2008, where he was beaten in the semi-finals by Nadal. While Nadal would go on to win a gold medal against Chile’s Fernando González – and added a second four years later in Rio de Janeiro, where he partnered Marc López, now a member of his coaching team, to the men’s doubles title – Djokovic’s Olympic odyssey has been a more painful one. 

At the 2012 Games in London, where he was handed the honour of bearing Serbia’s flag, Djokovic was beaten by Andy Murray in the last four and then denied bronze by Juan Martín del Potro, who also consigned him to a tearful first-round exit in Rio in 2016. Victory seemed all but assured in 2020, when Djokovic arrived in Tokyo with a golden grand slam in his sights after winning the first three majors of the year. Instead, he was stunned by Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, then suffered a meltdown against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the bronze medal match, hurling his racket into the stands – fortunately empty due to the global pandemic – and obliterating a frame against the net post as he slipped to a three-set defeat.

Small wonder, then, that Djokovic has made no secret of prioritising the Olympics this season. His most recent visit to Roland Garros ended unhappily after he suffered a torn meniscus in his last-16 win over Francisco Cerúndolo and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. He subsequently underwent knee surgery and, despite an improbable run to the Wimbledon final, where he was beaten in straight sets by Carlos Alcaraz, a question mark remains over his fitness. His movement was clearly below par against Alcaraz, and his intensive rehabilitation efforts will not have been helped by the switch back from grass to clay, challenges he acknowledged after the final. 

“In order to really have a chance to beat these guys in a grand slam, latter stages, or Olympics, I’m going to have to play much better than I did today and feel much better than I did today,” said Djokovic. “I’m going to work on it. 

“Hopefully [I] have a chance to fight for a medal for my country. On a completely different surface, obviously, going back to the place where I got injured some weeks ago. Let’s see.  Let’s see how physically and mentally I’m going to feel. Hopefully I can find the right tennis, because I’m going to need all I have and more to go to the final of the Olympic Games.”

If the Serbian world No 2 is to fulfil that dream, however, he may have to go through Nadal, who reached his first final in two years last week on the clay courts of Bastad. The Spaniard faces a potentially tricky opening-round assignment Márton Fucsovics of Hungary, ranked 83 in the world and widely regarded as one of the fittest players on tour. Mercifully, Nadal looked strong in practice on Friday, warming up alongside Alcaraz, his doubles partner, with his right thigh bandaged after suffering a midweek fitness scare that had his coach, Carlos Moya, warning that the 22-time grand slam winner’s singles campaign could be in doubt. Djokovic, however, will be among the many hoping his old rival makes the start line.

“Expectations for the Olympics are high, and I can’t and don’t want to change that,” said Djokovic. “It creates a personal motivation for me to approach it in the best possible way for the best possible result.

“In the last four, five days, I feel more prepared for the Olympics than I was for Wimbledon. I’m looking forward to the start of the tournament.

“It would be exciting to play against Nadal in the second round.”

Should that showdown materialise, it would be the 60th meeting between the pair. Djokovic currently has 30 wins to Nadal’s 29, although the Spaniard has prevailed in eight of their 10 matches at Roland Garros, the most recent of which came two years ago, when Nadal came through a four-set quarterfinal classic.

The bottom half of the draw is propped up by Alcaraz, who will be competing at the Games for the first time. The 21-year-old, who opens on Saturday against Hady Habib of Lebanon, is projected to meet reigning Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, in what would be a rematch of last month’s French Open final, won by the Spaniard in five sets. Alcaraz is relishing the prospect of competing alongside Nadal. 

“There’s no better way to make your Games debut than by forming a doubles partnership with Rafa,” said Alcaraz. “We’ll do our best, with the greatest desire, with a lot of enthusiasm while making people enjoy it.”

Nadal and Alcaraz will open their campaign against Andrés Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina on Saturday.

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