Tennis elevated as Alcaraz and Sinner's epic showdown marks end of Big Three era

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates with his staff and family after his victory against Jannik Sinner of Italy in the men's final on day 15 of the 2025 French Open, Roland-Garros 2025, Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium on June 8, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

By Craig Ray

9 Jun 2025

Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz’s 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) French Open final defeat of Italian Jannik Sinner elevated the sport to a new level.

As former tennis great Andre Agassi looked on at the drama unfolding before his eyes on Court Philippe Chatrier, his expression said everything.

The shaking of his domed head, the incredulous laugh as another forehand winner from an impossible angle fizzed through the Parisian air, told the story. Here was one of the greats of the sport, reduced to a mortal like the rest of us. Even Agassi couldn’t fathom the quality, the brilliance and the sheer audacity being produced by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

It was tennis from an ethereal plane, between two men touched by the gods of talent, but forged in the very real cloak of sweat and pain on courts in Europe.

If you watched the men’s French Open final at Roland-Garros, then you witnessed the final passing of the baton from the Big Three era into the age of the… well… they don’t have a moniker yet.

For so long men’s tennis was the domain of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The first two have retired while Djokovic still rages against the dying of the light.

The great Serb made it to the semis at Roland-Garros, discharging 2024 runner-up Sasha Zverev in four sets, playing tennis of such a gripping level that the prospect of singles Grand Slam title No 25 seemed possible.

Until he ran into Sinner in the semi-final and was drilled in three straight sets. It wasn’t just the score, it was the Italian’s ability to reduce Djokovic to a mere also-ran that made it so impressive.

End of an era

Djokovic’s pause as he exited Chatrier after losing to Sinner was perhaps telling. It was almost as if he knew, despite his indomitable warrior spirit, that his time had now gone.

He had been mowed down by a player 15 years his junior, still on the way up, with three Grand Slams in the bag. And Sinner is only half of the new obstacle Djokovic and every other player on tour will face.

“I felt constantly under pressure, and he didn’t allow me to kind of like have time to swing through the ball,” Djokovic said after the semi-final.

“He was just constantly on the line, trying to make me defend.

“That’s what these kind of guys, like Sinner and Alcaraz particularly, present on the court. They put pressure, so they’re constantly on you and, you know, basically increase the pressure as the match progresses.

“So, when the opportunities are presented, they’re very rare, so, you know, makes you a little more anxious, I guess, and you want to go for the shot or something. That’s what happened. I missed.”

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in action against Jannik Sinner on his way to winning the French Open in Paris. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Yoan Valat)

Jannik Sinner serves to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Christophe Petit Tesson)

Carlos Alcaraz in action at Roland Garros. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Christophe Petit Tesson)

Jannik Sinner after losing to Alcaraz. (Photo: EPA-EFE/ Teresa Suarez)

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Yoan Valat)

Alcaraz celebrates with his staff and family. (Photo: Jean Catuffe / Getty Images)

It was as close to an admission of defeat as Djokovic could muster as he saw the future of tennis. And it didn’t include him.

Yet, for the era of Big Three to officially end, Alcaraz and Sinner needed to meet in a Grand Slam final. Despite winning the previous six Grand Slams between them going into Sunday’s final, they had never met in the showpiece match at a major.

That box was ticked on Friday as both swept imperiously into the final, and then they produced a match of such magnificent quality and drama that they elevated the sport another notch.

At times during the Big Three’s era, it seemed tennis couldn’t get any better. The matches those three played against each other, on the biggest stages, were generally played at such a high standard it was like another sport.

Well, Sinner and Alcaraz said “we see your brilliance and raise it” with their performances in Paris.

While it will take years for either 22-year-old Alcaraz or the 23-year-old Sinner to win 20 or more Grand Slams as each of the Big Three did, if the evidence of the Paris clash is anything to go by, it’s going to be a wonderful journey towards that target.

Epic match

What made the men’s final a contest for the ages was that both players played magnificently at the same time.

While Sinner didn’t drop a set on his way to the final, Alcaraz’s path was less impressive in some ways. He lost several sets, more down to his moments of drifting focus than his ability.

But in Sunday’s final, even as he lost the first two sets to the terminator-like Sinner, whose play is so spectacularly crafted through repetition, Alcaraz was in the fight — mentally and physically. His focus never dropped.

Most often when a match stretches as long as this one — five hours 29 minutes — the level of one, or both, players dips at some stage.

You can honestly say that the standard of the 2025 French Open final, from both players, at all times, never dropped below brilliant for longer than a few points — if at all.

What elevated this contest’s greatness was that two exceptional athletes simultaneously produced shots of such staggering beauty, power and precision, that almost every point, let alone game, was an event.

It was fitting that Alcaraz hit a rasping forehand down the line, threading the smallest of openings past a closing Sinner at the net, to claim the title.

This match could only be decided by a point of such breathtaking audacity and aesthetic beauty.

It was also a match played in such fine spirit. Each player accepted line calls almost instantly, especially if the other called it out. It was trust and acknowledgement of the other’s integrity.

There were no “toilet breaks” or calling of the physio to court to break the other’s rhythm, which has become so commonplace in the sport. Just utmost respect for each other, the game and the occasion, that it ensured a moment of sporting theatre to be eternally admired.

The details of the match are there to pick over for years. Alcaraz saved three match points on his serve in the fourth set, he hit 17 more winners than Alcaraz but made nine more unforced errors, while overall, over five sets, Sinners won one more point (193-192).

That’s the beauty of tennis’ scoring system. Total points are not the measure of victory. Winning the ones that count at the right moment matters more.

There are no substitutions and halftime, no time outs and no coaching between games. It’s up to the players to tap into their skill, training and instincts to come up with real-time solutions over five hours as they fatigue and battle inner demons and doubts.

They both did. Someone had to give, even though we wished the contest would go on. In the end Alcaraz won, and Sinner lost — that’s the stark reality — but tennis and the old-fashioned notion of sportsmanship shone.

And as the smiling Agassi could attest, Alcaraz and Sinner elevated tennis as a sport, as entertainment and as drama, to a new level. DM

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End of an era

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