If there were any lingering doubts about tennis lacking compelling rivalries in the post-Federer, Nadal and Djokovic era, the 2025 Roland Garros final has put those firmly to rest.

The Sinner vs Alcaraz storyline was always promising to take over the mantle left by the Big Three and they used the Roland Garros final to make it their ‘coming-of-age’ party. Five hours and 29 minutes — the longest final in Roland Garros history — and many other records were shattered on Sunday night when the No. 1 and No. 2 locked horns. And who knows what might have happened if the 5th set ‘super tiebreak’ did not exist.

Fire and ice battle 

As with all great rivalries, this one too has almost completely opposite personalities. Alcaraz is all fire and brimstone, a no holds barred sometimes ‘in your face’ personality. Sinner is the calm, composed, a tactical kind of player and personality. It was the first time these two were facing off in a Grand Slam final. In such high-stakes matches, even the best sometimes fall short of playing their finest tennis.