22 years, 1 month, 3 days - where Alcaraz meet maestro

In a dramatic and unforgettable French Open final on Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz etched his name deeper into tennis history by defeating Jannik Sinner and claiming his fifth Grand Slam title. The victory didn’t just secure him the trophy—it also brought him level with his childhood idol, Rafael Nadal, in a remarkable coincidence: both reached their fifth major title at exactly 22 years, 1 month, and 3 days of age.

Back in 2008, Nadal triumphed over Roger Federer at Wimbledon to clinch his fifth Grand Slam at that very same age. Now, Alcaraz has mirrored that milestone in Paris—and he couldn't help but reflect on the symmetry.

“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, as quoted by Reuters. "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."

The match itself was a marathon. Alcaraz staged a breathtaking comeback after dropping the first two sets to Sinner and even facing three championship points in the fourth set. The final score—4–6, 6–7(4), 6–4, 7–6(3), 7–6(10–2)—tells only part of the story of a match that stretched across 5 hours and 29 minutes.

The Roland Garros crowd played a crucial role, Alcaraz said afterward, giving him the energy he needed to dig deep when it mattered most. For him, the turning point came late in the fifth set—when Sinner seemed poised to close it out.

"The match points were not great points. I saved match points, it's great but the points were not good," Alcaraz admitted. 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." concluded Alcaraz.

With Roland Garros now behind him and another Grand Slam added to his resume, Alcaraz will shift his focus to Wimbledon, where he’ll aim to defend his title and perhaps continue this extraordinary parallel with Nadal.