What was the longest French Open men’s singles final of the Open Era?
The French Open has produced some epic finals across the Open Era – but what have been the longest?
Before 2025, the honours went to Mats Wilander and Guillermo Vilas as they were the record holders for 43 years – until Carlos Alcaraz’s epic win over Jannik Sinner.
By time
Believe it or not, the Wilander-Vilas French Open men’s singles final in 1982 did not go to five sets.
At four hours and 42 minutes in length, Mats Wilander’s four-set triumph over Guillermo Vilas was the longest in time for more than four decades.
Unseeded and having never won a tour-level title previously, a 17-year-old Wilander stunned the tennis world with a 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-0, 6-4 over third seed and 1977 champion Vilas.
The match is remembered for Wilander’s historic triumph, with the tennis great remaining one of the youngest champions in tournament history.
However, it is not remembered for being a high-quality final, as the former world No 1 recalled back in 2022.
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“I just remember that Vilas started choking more than I’ve ever seen,” said Wilander to TNT Sports.
“He was so tight. So I started to understand the guy’s choking and it gave me the freedom to start coming forward a little bit and coming to the net a little bit.
“We played four sets for four hours and 42 minutes. It was 1-6, 7-6, 6-0, 6-4. That’s not a lot of games.
“So it was just a disaster to watch for people. But I did not give a s***, right? So I never really understood that I was winning the French Open until literally, I hit the very last shot.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev were not too far off Wilander and Vilas’ record in their 2024 final, with the Spaniard prevailing in four hours and 19 minutes.
By games
In terms of the number of games played, the longest French Open men’s singles final of the Open Era before the Sinner-Alcaraz took place in 1984.
That final pitted world No 1 and title favourite John McEnroe against Ivan Lendl, a man who had lost all four of his previous major finals.
McEnroe roared into a two-set lead and held a 4-2 lead in the fourth set, as he looked to win the French Open title that had previously eluded him.
However, defying all odds, future tennis legend Lendl rallied from his two-set deficit to claim the first of his eight Grand Slam titles, prevailing 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.
It was 51 games in length, and the closest anyone had previously come to breaking this record was Novak Djokovic, in another comeback from two sets down in 2021.
The Serbian battled back to beat Stefanos 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, a final that was 48 games in length; the 2024 final between Alcaraz and Zverev was 44 games in length.
But that was before the 2025 final, with Sinner and Alcaraz setting a new record both in terms of time and games played.
Sinner v Alcaraz by time
The top two played nearly an hour longer than that Wilander-Vilas match as they slugged it out for five hours and 29 minutes, with their 2025 final now the second-longest Grand Slam final in history.
Sinner was the world No 1 and had won two consecutive majors at the 2024 US Open and 2025 Australian Open, while Alcaraz was the defending champion.
The top seed dominated early on as he opened a two-set-to-love lead, and then stood on the brink of winning a third Grand Slam in a row at three championship points up.
However, Alcaraz saved those and then broke Sinner in the next game before winning the tie-breaker.
There were ebbs and flows in the decider as it went to a best-of-10 tie-breaker, and Alcaraz dominated to win a fifth major trophy at the age of 22.
Sinner v Alcaraz by games
With a final scoreline of 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (10-2), Alcaraz and Sinner played 59 games as they easily surpassed the McEnroe-Lendl record.
The 1984 final didn’t have any tie-breakers, while the 2025 edition had three, including a first-to-10 points in the decider.
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