This was the tennis version of the Headbanger’s Ball in the truest sense, as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner belted out heavy artillery stuff on the show courts of Roland Garros. After nearly four hours of belting, pounding and killing the tennis ball, the Spaniard won in five sets to set up a clash with Alexander Zverev. There have been riveting contests in tennis in the past, but Alcaraz versus Sinner, the current world No.1, was gripping. In the end, Alcaraz, who has been projected as successor to Rafael Nadal and a few other players, pulled of a brilliant win in five sets.
“You have to find the joys of suffering,” said Alcaraz. As he stressed that, on clay, you have to “enjoy suffering”, Alcaraz was defining the way he handles the pain barrier and prepares.
Five-setters, per se, in tennis, boil down to handling the nerve-wracking moments and handling the mental aspect well. Alcaraz is a student of the game as well as a young master. In 2023, tennis fans saw him suffer at the hands of Novak Djokovic in the French Open semis. Once he crossed The English Channel, Alcaraz was better prepared. His win at Wimbledon last July was top-drawer stuff.
A lot has changed since then. He has faced joint injuries, an ankle problem and even wore an elbow sleeve as protection. Up against Sinner, Alcaraz had to fight every which way. The kind of tennis being belted out was such your head could have spun. Intensity, yes, power yes, creativity, yes. The difference, so to say, was in Alcaraz being ready to try different stuff even on clay.
The old-time purists who worshipped clay courts would be content to keep grinding from the back court. Rallies were long and the unforced error, more than the winner, was decisive. No, not for Alcaraz. The highs and lows for both players were on view on Friday evening but the perceptible change was in finding different shots and different trajectories to out-trick the opponent. Alcaraz has the game for all courts, yet to be bold and daring, churn out drop shots and even volleys, and then fire the passing shots as variety demonstrated that he was not going to exhibit just a worn-out template.
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One can look at the match stats and say there was very little to separate the winner from the vanquished. But sport is not about stats alone. Emotions and ingenuity become vital, and Alcaraz showcased that killer instinct better.
He won the US Open in 2022 in noisy New York and Wimbledon in 2023. He has been spoken of as an all-court champion, but there have been problems, with injuries an irritant.
“I always wanted to be one of the best players in the world,” he said. “If I want to be one of the best players in the world, I have to be a good player on every surface, like Roger [Federer], Novak [Djokovic], Rafa [Nadal], [Andy] Murray.
“The best players in the world had success on every surface. So I consider myself a player who adapts very well his style in every surface. And, well, I grew up playing on clay, but I feel more comfortable playing on hard courts.”
He is well aware that Alexander Zverev will be dangerous in Sunday’s final. But then, as someone who can change gears and show variety, Alcaraz is riding the momentum. There will be a new men’s champion at Roland Garros, with Zverev easily winning his semi-final against an unwell Casper Ruud.
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