Sport is so captivating because of its ability to offer breathless duels between two athletes.
Among the most memorable are the cycling rivalries between Coppi and Bartali, or Merckx and Gimondi; in motorsport, those between Biaggi and Rossi; and in tennis, the epic battles between Nadal and Federer, later joined by Djokovic.
We spectators are drawn to these showdowns for one simple reason: we don’t know how they’ll end.
People often say, “May the best player win,” but it would be more accurate to say, “May the one who is the best todaywin.”
Victory isn’t something you earn once and for all — each time, you have to start over, just like in Joseph Conrad’s novella The Duel, and its film adaptation The Duellists by Ridley Scott, which tells the story of two men who, during the Napoleonic Wars, chase each other across Europe to settle a personal grudge.
In sports, that same drive for personal redemption is sublimated into the pursuit of dominance over an opponent — but within a public, carefully regulated confrontation overseen by a referee who ensures that the rules are respected.
Yesterday, we witnessed one of these historic battles between two extraordinary tennis players, both young, the top two in the world rankings, representing not only the present but also the next decade of the sport.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz played a historic match for several reasons.
It was the longest final in Roland Garros history: 5 hours and 29 minutes.
But these numbers aren’t just trivia for statisticians — they reflect the immense value these athletes placed on each point, showcasing their tenacity.
Being tenacious means doing what you’ve already done, again, even when it becomes harder.
That’s not a tongue twister — it’s the essence of perseverance: playing with the same intensity and physical energy even when you’re two sets down, like Alcaraz, or continuing to push and stay focused without resorting to desperate shots, even when fatigue sets in or after the disappointment of losing three match points, as happened to Sinner.
Some might say, “Well, they’re champions — that’s why they can do that.”
But I see it the other way around: they became champions because they trained to show up like that when it counts.
What sets them apart is their ability to stay locked into the match, giving as little space as possible to either joy or disappointment, and always staying focused on their game, regardless of the score.
For all these reasons, I believe it’s fair to say we witnessed a historic match. And we can expect more of the same every time they face off again.
But the day after such a battle, the time comes to recover, physically and mentally. To return to everyday life.
And Sinner reminded us of that with humility, saying he would now spend time with his family — and that his father wasn’t at the match… because he was at work
