Alcaraz wins at Roland Garros, Paolini-Errani ko in doubles

Paris – In the end he triumphs Alcaraz. In a marathon epilogue that lasted over four hours in the final of Roland GarrosJannik Sinner’s ‘executioner’ also overtakes the German Alexander Zverev to graduate champion in Paris at the end of five spectacular sets: 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6 – the score in favor of the Spaniard. From tomorrow the Iberian will overtake Djokovic in the ATP rankings, placing himself in second place behind his South Tyrolean rival and friend. For him it is the first time as king in Paris, but already the third Slamafter the US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023.

“We did a wonderful job, with my team, which is like a family”, said Alcaraz, unable to hide his emotion. However, they didn’t make it Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the final of the women’s doubles: the Italians were defeated by the couple Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova.

The American and the Czech won in two sets, with a score of 7-6, 6-3, in just under two hours of play.

In the men’s final Alcaraz started well, then suffered the German’s comeback and went down two sets to one but then thanks to his physical strength and his irresistible shots he manages to come back a Zverev betrayed by a few too many errors and who never gave the feeling of being able to close the match: for him too many wasted opportunities, even in decisive break points. However, the Roland Garros balance sheet speaks Italian.

With today’s defeat, two finals have been lost in two days, but Jasmine Paolini has not lost the smile that allowed her to conquer Paris, in two weeks of victories and good play. The Italian is now n.7 in the world, who yesterday bowed to No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the singles final, paired with veteran Sara Errani, failed to take home the doubles title, losing in two sets to the American Coco Gauff and the Czech Katerina Siniakova. In short, there was no happy ending, but the two Italians were fantastic and, as Errani said at the time of the awards ceremony, “We’ll see each other again in a few weeks, because we have a dream…”, with five circles. Thanks to the physical and mental strength drained from Paolini yesterday by the confrontation with the Polish champion, the match was decided at the tie break of the first set, won 7-5 by the opponents. In the second, some measuring errors condemned the Italians and rewarded Gauff, with her first Slam trophy in doubles, and Siniakova, who instead achieved a hat trick in Paris. The Czech girl was the tipping point: as she raised the level of her tennis, the final turned around, despite the greater harmony on the court between the Italians compared to that of their opponents, who decided to play the tournament only at ‘last. AND However, it was difficult for both Italians to accept the outcome of the match. They fought until the end after contributing with Jannik Sinner and the Vavassori-Bolelli duo to bring Italy to four semi-finals in a slam, something that had never happened, and to three finals. “It’s obvious that as soon as you finish there’s regret – said Errani – but it was a really excellent tournament. We tried to do our best but we were a little tired, not completely clear. They are very powerful and we had to be always placed well. We were still very close.” “It’s hard to accept”, said Paolini, who however will not forget “these last two really intense weeks, full of emotions and memories. I can’t wait to return here, one of the most beautiful places in the world for a tennis player”.