Alcaraz's Remarkable Roland Garros Conquest amidst Crazy Coincidences!

Carlos Alcaraz pulled off one of the greatest heists in ages to seal an improbable Roland Garros Championship. It was virtually gravity defying as just around an hour earlier in to the match, he was on the back-foot staving off 3 match points in the fourth set. To surmount a comeback from that stage by turning it around and winning an epic 5 set thriller caps off one of the most miraculous achievements ever witnessed in sport.

It almost looked like a foregone conclusion as it seemed impossible for Carlos to spot any aperture with his opponent Sinner literally unrelenting not giving any room whatsoever. What Alcaraz did to make a way back will be etched in sporting memorabilia and remembered as a history defining sporting moment. It also reinforced the important life lesson of  "nothing is impossible" , "never give up" and "it's never over till it's actually over".

Going into the final, both the challengers had an unblemished record in Grand Slam finals with Alcaraz winning all his 4 slam final prior and Sinner emerging victorious in all the 3 slam finals that he had participated in. So, it was a given that one record was on the line with a final defeat inevitable for either one of them. Also it was after a long time that the World #1 was going head to head in a clash with the World #2 with stakes being extremely high. Sinner was the man in a rich vein of form going into the final having won all of his 6 encounters without dropping a single set along the way. This also included a convincing victory over the all time leader in the Grand Slam pack viz Novak Djokovic thus preventing Nole from adding a 25th Grand Slam to his tally. Though Alcaraz didn't feel like he was at his real best in this tournament, he did have a one-up over Sinner having just recently coming out on top in the Rome Masters final which was a clay court event played a week before the French Open. This one seemed like a battle between a missile machine in the form of Sinner against a mercurial maverick in the presence of Alcaraz who's known for doing mind blowing things on the tennis court when on song.

It was not just the victory which was super savoury sweet but also the crazy coincidences at play with the universe probably egging Carlos Alcaraz on to recreate history and making sure there was a bizarre alignment with his fellow Spaniard and local childhood hero Rafael Nadal. When Rafa had won his 5th Grand Slam in 2008, he was 22 years, one month and 3 days old. The cosmic energies played a upending trick by making Alcaraz play his 5th Grand Slam final weirdly at the exact age of 22 years, one month and 3 days old in 2025. This seemed pretty outrageous to even apprehend. For a better part of the match it did look like it was only a hoodwink and that the result wouldn't go according to plan what with Sinner dominating the initial part of the match and setting up 3 match points and on course to win a pretty comfortable final. But remarkably from out of the blue, Alcaraz rose like a phoenix from the Ashes and staged a turnaround which was much beyond the realms of a fairy tale to script a win out of the extraordinary to match the feat of winning his 5th Grand Slam final at the exact ditto day, age and month of Rafa Nadal. I am still gushing for words as to how the almighty could write such a script for 2 spectacular Spanish super stars born 17 years apart from one another (Nadal 3rd Jun 1986 and Alcaraz 5th May 2003) and 2 Grand Slam tennis tournament finals held 17 years cut off from each other. (Wimbledon 6th July 2008 and French Open 8th June 2025) [The exact difference between both being 16 years 11 months and 2 days]

Apart from the age being exactly akin, there were few more similarities brought forth to the table. Both Nadal and Alcaraz won their respective matches outlasting their opponents in 5 set thrillers. The icing on the cake is that when Nadal prevailed over Federer in the dim evening light of Wimbledon in 2008, it was considered to be one of the greatest matches ever to be played in the hallowed turf of grass. He also in the process prevented Federer from winning his 6th straight Wimbledon title. Likewise with Alcaraz winning Sinner in a slug fest of a 5 setter by coming from 2 sets down, this marks as one of the greatest matches ever to be played on the red clay of Paris in a final. Both these encounters would arguably compete against each other in being the finest Grand Slam final ever to be played in tennis history. Also at that time in 2008, when Nadal finally overcame Federer it was the longest ever Championship match lasting 4 hours and 48 minutes. This was however overtaken in 2019 when Djokovic defeated Federer in the final lasting 4 hours and 57 minutes. Incidentally Djokovic also came back from match point down to win the final in another of Wimbledon's greatest finals. Alcaraz winning over Sinner incidentally happened to be the longest ever final in Roland Garros extending to 5 hours 29 minutes being even longer than the Nadal vs Federer clash in 2008. In both occasions it was the longest ever final at that particular moment in time. Another eerie similarity to take note is that in both the finals pertaining to 2008 and 2025, 2 of the sets were won by a scoreline of 6-4 and two of the sets were won in a tie break 7-6. However back in those days, the final set wasn't decided through a tie breaker and kept lingering on with Nadal prevailing 9-7 whereas in this case Alcaraz won the deciding 10 point tie breaker with scores level at 6-6 in the 5th set. To add to the murkiness, in 2008 Wimbledon Federer was seeded 1 and Nadal 2 with the latter becoming the victor and voila the same happened in 2025 French Open with Sinner being seeded 1 and Alcaraz 2 with the latter again coming out on top. To add to the spine chilling effect is the fact that both the opponents who lost were August month born and Leo Sun signs. (Federer 8th Aug 1981 and Sinner 16th Aug 2001)

One must be privileged to have even been witness to such breath taking borderline brilliance. It's a pity that one had to lose in this rivalry. Arguably this comeback by Alcaraz to win the French Open final of 2025 should rank in as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport. It was simply sheer spellbinding and master craftsmanship at it's zenith. It's really hard to choose whether this would usurp the Nadal win over Federer in 2008 as both had it's moments etched in unrivalled artistry. Both the 2008 Wimbledon Final and the 2025 French Open Final would be celebrated for eternity and remembered for eons to come. The mysterious coincidences making a wizardly symmetry just adds that extra bit of sparkle deeming this tennis match final extremely special and truly mind boggling.

3 Spine Chilling Sporting Thrillers to round off 2022

The year 2022 was writ large and abuzz with sporting events aplenty from different nooks and corners of the world. I would like to particularly single out 3 remarkable days which are all Sunday showdowns apparently from 3 different fields from the sporting calendar that hold a special place in the heart. Incidentally 2 of these took place in the perennially loved sporting city of Melbourne in Australia with the third being a masterpiece from the Middle Eastern region of Doha in Qatar. Also 2 of these were Grand Finales and the other just a group stage encounter but totally worth it's weight in gold. 

The sports in question happen to be cricket, tennis and football. Cricket is a sport that I have followed since perpetuity by constantly keeping a tab on the different series taking place in various parts of the world. Tennis as a sport has largely been about viewing the Grand Slams and a little bit of the big ticket Masters events. Also I've keenly followed the progress of three of the most influential tennis players not just of this generation but of all time viz Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. When it comes to Football, it's about largely being in sync with club events such as Premier League, Champions League etc. but more importantly about keeping track of major country events such as Euro, Copa America and especially the World Cup that takes place once every 4 years. 

The year of 2022 produced some vintage rippers from these 3 historical sports. The uncanny but common theme prevailing across these three memorable matches is the fact that they all looked like being just another typical sporting match up with sudden twists and turn of events resulting in a multitude of ebbs & flows effectively culminating and eventually catapulting these matches into virtual all time classics and going down the annals as contests to recollect for a lifetime. 

The architects engineering these rip snorters happen to be celebrated names from these 3 sports viz Rafael Nadal, Lionel Messi and Virat Kohli. Ironically they even happen to be born in back to back years of 1986, 1987 and 1988 respectively. Their exploits in the sporting battle under immense pressure also addresses the adage of "Class is Temporary, Form is Permanent" in a resounding manner. They were all under the hammer faced with extreme adversity and that is when they perfectly exhibited their caliber paving way for their fans to go into raptures and capping off a win to cherish for eternity. 

Thus, an ode to three heart thumping chest pumping spine chilling tearjerkers that truly define the character of what could be termed as sporting blockbusters of 2022 includes the following:

1) Tennis - Australian Open Final - Rafael Nadal defeated Danii Medvedev - Sunday, 30th Jan 2022 - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia

2) Cricket - ICC T20 World Cup Group Stage - India defeated Pakistan - Sunday, 23rd Oct 2022 - Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne, Australia

3) Football - FIFA World Cup Final - Argentina defeated France - Sunday, 18th Dec 2022 - Lusail Stadium, Doha, Qatar

1) Sport: Tennis, Event: Australian Open Final, Architect: Rafael Nadal 

Even before the start of a ball being hit by a racquet, the whole tournament was mired in controversy with defending champion and 9 time winner Novak Djokovic barred from participating due to vaccine reasons. This paved the way for Rafael Nadal to up his game and reach the final yet again. For starters, this had been historically Rafa's worst performing Grand Slam and he had come a cropper many a time losing agonizing finals to his nemesis Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the past. In the final was looming large the lanky Russian Medvedev who had just beaten Novak Djokovic in the previous Grand Slam final contested which was the US Open of 2021 thus preventing Nole from winning all 4 Grand Slams in the same year and also establishing that the Big 3 remained tied at 20 each in the Grand Slam race. Medvedev was clearly the favorite for this contest and he got the ball rolling right from the beginning ambushing Nadal from the word go. Having taken a 2 set lead and with a break in the third, it all looked more or less a formality before the beast mode being activated all of a sudden by the rampaging bull from Spain. Nobody knew from where Rafa got the energy to fight but what happened in the next couple of hours was sheer herculean brilliance from Nadal as he staved up point after point taking the match to a decider and finally sealing it 7-5 in the fifth set. Rafa was overcome with emotion with the turnaround being absolutely astonishing. Rafa also eclipsed the Grand Slam count to become the first man to go to 21 Grand Slams in a bitter sweet title triumph putting all past demons to rest and exceedingly elevating his fighter ship qualities to a zenith level perhaps that could sparsely ever be comprehended. Rafa Nadal would no doubt go down as the greatest clay court player ever to have donned the game but this win in a surface not supposedly his favorite and the manner of victory virtually rising from the Ashes will go down seemingly as one of his sweetest and perfectly epitomizes the hallmark of a champion showcasing the art of what a fightback and comeback is all about. 

2) Sport: Cricket, Event: Ind vs Pak T20 World Cup Group Stage, Architect: Virat Kohli

India vs Pakistan clashes always attracts the eye balls and this one was billed to be a biggie and turned out to be a bombastic blockbuster. The Melbourne Cricket Ground which is one of the oldest and biggest stadiums in the world was all ecstatic having packed an audience of over 90000 cheering on for their respective teams. The 'G' as you call it was witnessing an India vs Pakistan World Cup game after 30 years since the 1992 ODI World Cup and the excitement was palpable with it being a showdown one just couldn't resist. Coming to some background information, India had an enviable winning record against Pakistan in World Cup encounters having won 12 out of 13 previous contests before this one. It was actually 12 wins on the trot for India but however Pakistan had finally broken the deadlock by literally tearing apart this unsavory record by recording a win in emphatic fashion through a commanding 10 wicket romp of their opponents in the last World Cup of 2021. The World Cup hoodoo against India which was plaguing them for so long had been arrested and Pakistan seemed to be on top once again for large portions of this game. After scoring a respectable 159, they had India on the mat by ripping through India's top order and placing them in a precarious position of 31/4. Kohli and Hardik did try to salvage the ship through a steady partnership but the required run rate was just oozing beyond acceptable levels. India needed an almost improbable 48 to win off the last 3 overs when Virat Kohli suddenly activated God Mode. His dispatchment of back to back sixes off Rauf was some of the cleanest hitting ever witnessed. Ashwin finally hitting a straight boundary off the last delivery to signal an Indian victory had the crowd go into euphoria and dancing in delight. India had pulled off a victory of unparalleled proportions which looked way beyond the bridge at one point but one man Virat Kohli through his sheer will and magnificent batsmanship made it happen. With just this one knock, Virat had avenged all his detractors who had called for his axing by constructing a T20 knock for the ages in such a high pressure taxing environment. Though this was only a group stage game, this victory would rank as one of India's finest ever in the T20 format and one to savor for a long time to come. 

3) Sport: Football, Event: Arg vs Fra FIFA World Cup Final, Architect: Lionel Messi

The FIFA World Cup of 2022 was the 22nd edition to have been staged with its existence going back almost a century back to 1930 when the initial World Cup was held in Uruguay. It was the first ever World Cup to be held in an Arab nation and just the second World Cup to be held in Asia. This was also the first World Cup ever to be conducted during the end of the year with almost all World Cups prior to this being staged around the middle of the year. The event courted a lot of controversy for some of the event handling but ended up being a World Cup to remember especially with so many smaller known unfancied teams toppling big giants of the game. The final was perhaps a testimony to signify that the best had been reserved for the last and boy oh boy what a game of epic proportions it eventually turned out to be. That however wasn't the case for more than 3/4th of the game with Argentina literally dominating the field of play and what looked like a resolutely comfortable victory for Albiceleste turned out to be an almost absolute nightmare at the end. The peaks and troughs foreseen right from when France were 0-2 down to equalizing at 2-2 before taking it to extra time only for Argentina's talisman Lionel Messi to get the lead back again at 3-2 only giving away immediately to a late penalty scored by Frenchman Mbappe completing a terrific hattrick to make it to 3-3 and then once again the drama of the penalty shoot out which Argentina finally managed to scamper through was all jaw dropping stuff of the highest order. Those last 45 minutes of the game was not just intense but also insane with fans shuffling for breath not knowing what was going to happen next. It was breathtaking to witness the sea of events which just kept going berserk all over the place. It felt like this game should really have not had a loser but in the end it was heartbreak for France and pure ecstasy for Argentina who had reclaimed the World title after 36 years making Buenos Aires go in to a frenzy. Argentina also managed to avenge their defeat to France who had knocked them out in the previous World Cup of 2018 in the pre quarterfinal stage. In the end Football was the winner and the entertainment that was got to witness was monumental to say the least. Lionel Messi capped of his career with the one silver lining that was missing in his kitty and the one that he so badly wanted viz the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy. This also enabled him to match the feat of his illustrious countryman Diego Maradona who last won the World Cup for their beloved country way back in 1986. The final held on 18th December 2022 was one of the last sporting events of the calendar year and it was a treat for everyone to witness this rip roaring sporting spectacle.

2022 was certainly a year for the sporting fraternity with plenty of highs and lows. There were many memorable moments and a plethora of records that had been smashed over the course of the year. The 3 matches picked to represent their respective sports not only act as testimony to the greatness produced but also stand as true torchbearers that will testify the leap of time.

A 5th World Cup Knock Out Clash involving India and Australia

The Super Sunday do or die India vs Australia encounter on the 27th of March 2016 is just too difficult to call. Though India and Australia have contested each other many times in World Cups, it was only from this millennium that they have stood in the way of each other.

Looking back at the track record, it's 2-2 in knock out ICC world cup events with Aus clinching the 2003 WC final (23rd Mar), India winning a strong Aussie side in the 2007 T20 WC semifinal (22nd Sep) and then again vanquishing the Aussies at home in the 2011 WC Quarter final (24th Mar) thus preventing Australia from winning a back to back 4th WC title but however the Aussies avenged the revenge by thumping the Indians in their own backyard in the 2015 WC Semifinal (26th Mar). Both sides have won one each in South Africa and managed to come out trumps in their respective home ties. And now in the 2016 T20 WC, the two sides meet again at Mohali in a potential made up quarter final with both in the way of each other in garnering a spot in the semifinals.

Coincidentally also this is the 4th out of 5 battles happening in the month of March and a mathematical pattern has emerged with this being the 5th in a row happening in dates of 20's (23rd, 22nd, 24th, 26th and 27th). And to just make the whole equation all the more juicy, whenever these 2 sides have clashed each other in a head to head slugfest, the winner has gone on to eventually lift the title ;)

It just doesn't get any bigger than this and it's one prediction I just want to sit on the fence and seriously want to refrain from making. Fingers tightly crossed!