Carlos Alcaraz ng Espanya, wagi sa French Open
Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – June 8, 2025 Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the trophy after winning the men’s singles final against Italy’s Jannik Sinner REUTERS
Tinawag ni Carlos Alcaraz na “destiny” nang magawa niyang makabalik upang makuha ang ika-lima niyang Grand Slam title sa French Open nitong Linggo, kung saan kapantay na niya ang tally ng kaniyang childhood idol na si Rafael Nadal, noong kasing-edad niya ito.
Ang 22-anyos na Spaniard, na matagal nang tinaguriang tagapagmana ni Nadal sa claycourt throne, ay nakabawi mula sa pagkatalo sa dalawang sets sa unang pagkakataon sa kaniyang career upang sa huli ay mapanalunan ang match laban sa world number one na si Jannik Sinner.
Sinabi ni Alcaraz, “The coincidence of winning my fifth Grand Slam at the same age as Rafa Nadal, I’m going to say that’s destiny.”
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with his parents, Virginia Garfia Escandon and Carlos Alcaraz Gonzalez and the trophy after winning the men’s singles final against Italy’s Jannik Sinner REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Si Nadal ay mas bata lamang ng isang araw kay Alcaraz, nang talunin niya si Roger Federer sa isa pang “final for the ages” sa Wimbledon noong 2008 para sa ika-lima niyang Grand Slam title.
Ayon pa kay Alcaraz, na tumalo kay Sinner ng Italy sa pinakamahabang French Open final sa professional era, “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.”
Pinasalamatan din ng Sapniard ang Paris crowd dahil sa suporta ng mga ito para makuha ang score na 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(10-2) laban kay Sinner.
Aniya, “Without them, it would have been impossible to come back. At the start of the third set, everything was going his way. I had to delete those thoughts from my mind and fight.”
Sabi pa ni Alcaraz, “The match points were not great points. I saved match points, it’s great but the points were not good. 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.”
Carlos Alcaraz retained his title after the longest ever French Open final. Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters
Ang panalo ay hindi lamang nagpapatibay sa katayuan ni Alcaraz sa mga piling tao ng sports, kundi muling nagpasiklab sa mga usapan ng isang bagong henerasyon ng tunggalian sa pagitan nila ni Sinner na nanalo na ng tatlong Grand Slam titles.
Ayon sa Spanish tenni star, “It’s not going to be a turning point. I’m sure he’s going to learn from this match, and he’s going to come back stronger the next time we are going to face against each other. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to do his homework. I’m pretty sure I’m going to try to learn from this match as well how I can be better, how I can, you know, tactically make damage in his game.”
Dagdag pa niya, “I’m not going to beat him forever. That’s obvious. So I have to keep learning from the matches I played against him, and hopefully play more Grand Slam finals. Every match that I’m playing against him is important honestly. This is the first match in a Grand Slam final. Hopefully not the last time. Because every time that we face against each other, we raise our level to the top.”
