PARIS – What’s at stake for Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday? “A tennis match.”
The 22-year-old Spaniard answers with ease and simplicity a question that could invite complex analysis. Because this Sunday, 8 June 2025, in Paris, Alcaraz will walk onto Court Philippe Chatrier not only to defend his title, but to keep his perfect record in major finals alive and extend his dominance over Jannik Sinner.
But Alcaraz makes it all seem simple — and normal. As if playing a French Open final were something bound to happen, as natural as a club amateur stepping onto the chalked courts on a weekend morning.
“It’ll be a great Sunday of tennis for the fans,” said the Spaniard. And it’s impossible for it not to be, when the best players of this era meet with a Grand Slam title on the line — a showdown never seen before.
Alcaraz is set to play his third final at Chatrier in the past twelve months. His record there is mixed. On 9 June 2024, he came from two sets to one down to beat Zverev and win his first French Open title. Less than two months later, on 4 August, he left the court in tears after losing the gold medal match at the Paris Olympic Games — crushed, feeling he had let his country down.
“I’ve learned mentally from the situations I’ve been through — playing Grand Slam finals, bad moments, good moments — and I’ve built a stronger mindset, one that can handle big problems. I’m 22, and I’m slowly finding those moments to mature, to keep growing,” he told the press.
“I enjoy every match I play with Jannik, even if it’s painful. He pushes me to be better every day. The feedback I get when I play Jannik, or Novak, is really important for my progress,” said Alcaraz, who leads the head-to-head against the world No. 1 by 7–4.
A vivid moment: during his practice session before facing Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, Alcaraz pulled out his phone to photograph Nadal’s footprint plaque, permanently embedded in the Philippe Chatrier court.
“It was the perfect time to go up close, take a look, snap a photo, keep that as a memory. I think it’s something really beautiful. Rafa’s always been my biggest inspiration, my idol, so having that memory, that picture of his plaque — I had to have it.”
As if trying to soak in the energy and legacy of his idol and natural predecessor. A symbolic presence: the man who won 14 titles in Paris. On Sunday, Alcaraz will be aiming for “only” his second — in something as simple, and as complex, as a tennis match.
