Carlos Alcaraz described it as “destiny” after equalling Rafael Nadal’s Grand Slam tally at the exact same age following his remarkable comeback win over Jannik Sinner in the French Open 2025 final. The 22-year-old Spaniard, who turned 22 years, 1 month, and 3 days old on the day of his fifth major title, matched Nadal’s record when the legendary left-hander clinched his fifth Slam at Wimbledon 2008. Alcaraz now joins Nadal as the only other man to achieve that milestone at this precise stage in his career.
After defeating World No. 1 Sinner in a five-set marathon that lasted 5 hours and 29 minutes, Alcaraz acknowledged the eerie timing of the achievement and said it was a stat he would carry with pride forever. "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," Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz fought back from two sets down and saved three championship points before triumphing 4–6, 6–7 (4), 6–4, 7–6 (3), 7–6 (10-2), becoming the ninth man in Open Era history to win a Grand Slam final after losing the first two sets. Despite a strong start by Sinner, Alcaraz summoned resilience, grit, and timely shot-making to pull off one of the most dramatic wins Roland Garros has witnessed.
The young Spaniard credited the passionate Paris crowd for pushing him through the toughest moments of the match. “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.”
Recalling the critical moment when the match seemed to be slipping away, Alcaraz highlighted a particularly tense service game at 6-5 in the fifth. “Honestly, I still don’t know how I saved that game. He was dominating and hitting the lines. It just happened. I was just surviving.”
With his Roland Garros title defense complete and destiny apparently aligning with his idol Nadal, Alcaraz now turns his focus to Wimbledon, where he aims to continue his Grand Slam dominance on grass. His journey mirrors Nadal’s in more ways than one but Alcaraz is clearly writing his own chapter in tennis history.
