(fixes typo in Alcaraz in paragraph 12)
PARIS (Reuters) -Carlos Alcaraz called it destiny as he completed a thrilling comeback to capture his fifth Grand Slam title at the French Open on Sunday, drawing level with his childhood idol Rafael Nadal’s tally at the same age.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, long dubbed the heir to Nadal’s claycourt throne, fought back from two sets down for the first time in his career to lift the trophy in a match against world number one Jannik Sinner that he said had everything.
“The coincidence of winning my fifth Grand Slam at the same age as Rafa Nadal, I’m going to say that’s destiny,” Alcaraz said of equalling Nadal’s tally of five major titles at the same stage of their careers.
Nadal was one day younger when he beat Roger Federer in another final for the ages at Wimbledon in 2008 for his fifth Grand Slam title.
“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,” said Alcaraz, who beat Italy’s Sinner in the longest French Open final in the professional era.
In a final packed with momentum swings, blistering winners, and jaw-dropping rallies, Alcaraz credited the Paris crowd for keeping him alive as he won 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(10-2).
“Without them, it would have been impossible to come back,” he said. “At the start of the third set, everything was going his way. I had to delete those thoughts from my mind and fight.”
Alcaraz saved three match points but the moment he singled out from the match was when he was 6-5 down in the decider and struggling, turning the game in his favour to force a super tiebreak.
“The match points were not great points. I saved match points, it’s great but the points were not good,” he said.
“At 6-5 in the fifth at 15-30 or 30-all, advantage for me, 40-all. Those points I remember pretty clear, and honestly I still don’t know how I did it.
“I mean, it was balls on the line, slicing the line. He was dominating that game. Honestly I still don’t know how I saved that game.”
The win not only cements Alcaraz’s status among the sport’s elite but also reignites talk of a new generation of rivalries with Sinner having won three Grand Slam titles.
“It’s not going to be a turning point. I’m sure he’s going to learn from this match, and he’s going to come back stronger the next time we are going to face against each other,” Alcaraz said of the 23-year-old Italian.
“I’m pretty sure he’s going to do his homework. I’m pretty sure I’m going to try to learn from this match as well how I can be better, how I can, you know, tactically make damage in his game.
“I’m not going to beat him forever. That’s obvious. So I have to keep learning from the matches I played against him, and hopefully play more Grand Slam finals.”
Still, with a trophy in hand and history in his pocket, Alcaraz was already looking ahead.
“Every match that I’m playing against him is important honestly. This is the first match in a Grand Slam final. Hopefully not the last time,” he said.
“Because every time that we face against each other, we raise our level to the top.”
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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