The Second Longest Grand Slam Final

Carlos Alcaraz has a tradition of tattooing his Grand Slam victories on his leg to carry them with him always. In 2022, after winning the US Open against Casper Ruud, he opted for the initials 'CCC' in honour of his grandfather's famous phrase 'Head, heart, and guts' alongside the date of that first success, 11-09-22. After winning the first of his two Wimbledon titles in 2023, he chose a strawberry, one of the symbols of the London event, along with the date of the achievement, 10-07-23, while last season he opted for the Eiffel Tower to celebrate his debut at Roland Garros.

The Murcian, after winning this Sunday on the central court in Paris against Jannik Sinner in a final that will go down in history as the longest of the tournament and the second longest in Grand Slam finals, might this time choose a large clock to remind him of a match he had practically lost with two sets down and three match points for the Italian, which ultimately fell to his side after 5 hours and 27 minutes of high-level tennis. This is what can happen when two wizards are at play. Until yesterday, the ranking of the longest finals at Roland Garros was topped by the duel between Mats Wilander and Argentine Guillermo Vilas in 1982, with victory for the Swedish player by 6-1, 6-7 (8), 6-0, and 6-4 after four hours and 42 minutes of battle.

Broadening the scope, the longest final in Grand Slam history, however, remains the one played in 2012 between Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal at the Australian Open. That match was won by the Serbian with a tight 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, and 7-5 after no less than 5 hours and 53 minutes, 26 minutes more than the match between Alcaraz and Sinner yesterday. It was one of the best matches played by two of the three members of the 'Big Three', and the Spaniard later acknowledged it was "the toughest defeat of his career."

In third place is the 2019 Wimbledon final featuring Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. On that occasion, the balance also tipped in favour of the Serbian after an epic match that lasted nearly five hours, specifically four hours and 57 minutes. The 1988 US Open with Lendl and Wilander as protagonists and the 2012 event that marked Andy Murray's first Grand Slam against Djokovic, each lasting 4 hours and 54 minutes, make up the six longest finals. Following them is the match between Nadal and Medvedev at the US Open in 2019, which lasted four minutes less.