Sinner: It's painful to miss a match point and lose, digest the loss and move on

In this year's French Open men's singles final, Sinner was one step away from beating Alcaraz, but suffered a five-set defeat after squandering three championship points. After an epic duel that lasted 5 hours and 29 minutes, the Italian's dream of lifting the Musketeers Cup for the first time was once again put on hold.

Sinner

"I'm happy to be playing at this level and I'm happy with the whole tournament, but the defeat was really painful," said Sinner, who is aiming for his fourth career Grand Slam. We're looking to improve every day and try to get ourselves on this stage, it's definitely the highest level of competition, and it's an honour to be a part of it, but it's a shame to end it. "

The match was reversed several times: Sinner took a two-set lead and broke first in the third, and then took a 5-3 lead in the fourth, but Alcaraz fought back, saved three championship points to hold serve, and then broke back to tie the score at 5-5 and finally dragged the match to the deciding set with a tie-break.

When asked how he adjusted his mindset for the deciding set, Sinner said: "I try to clear all my memories and a Grand Slam is all about starting from scratch. Although it was disappointing to miss match point in the fourth set, I always maintained my will to fight and didn't give him any chance to score easily. The end of the game is the end, and the feelings at the end of the game are very complicated, and all kinds of thoughts come to my heart. The ending can't be changed, but you still have a chance to turn things around at the start of the fifth set. "

Slightly cruel, Sinner's career record in five sets was rewritten to 6-10, and the match that took more than 3 hours and 50 minutes was a seven-game defeat.

Despite the longest final in the history of the French Open, Sinner emphasised that fitness was not the reason for the loss: "I was in good shape, but of course both sides were tired, it was a test of fitness and will. I'm still happy to be a part of a matchup like this, it shows the ultimate level of tennis. Now what we have to do is digest the losses, draw positives from them and move on, there is no other way. "

When it comes to competing with Alcaraz, the 23-year-old has a big picture.

"The confrontation of each era has its own charm. In the past, players played more variedly, but now the game is faster and more intense. I've been lucky enough to have played against Novak (Djokovic), Rafa (Nadal), but unfortunately never met Roger (Federer) in a Grand Slam, and it takes a lot to beat these legends. Now the confrontation with new generations such as Carlos is no different. It's good for tennis and the audience to be able to dedicate a tournament like this, and the atmosphere in the arena today is unforgettable. I am honored to be a part of this era. "

Despite missing out on the title, Sinner is still ranked No. 1 in the world with a 2,030 point advantage. Alcaraz was unable to pick up an extra point as the defending champions, while Sinner, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open last year (who lost to Alcaraz at the time), picked up an extra 500 points at the French Open.

(Compiled by Faye Wong, Photo/Visual China)