Monday, June 9

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz squeezed out a comeback victory against Italy's Jannik Sinner in a French Open final for the ages yesterday, with the pair battling across five sets in the longest French Open final in history.

Sinner, the world No. 1, and Alcaraz, the world No. 2, faced off in what the world knew would be an epic match before it even started. The pair had never met in a major final until yesterday, when they faced off at Paris' Roland Garros on clay courts at the final for the French Open.

Sinner had easily crushed all three of his opponents in the tournament, including tennis legend Novak Djokovic in the semifinal, and improved his record to 47-2 since August. However, those two losses were to Alcaraz, who managed to achieve an outstanding, 19-0 perfect record in clay courts this season after winning this year's French Open.

The match began with a set from Sinner, winning 6-4, and he continued to win the second set 7 (7) - 6 (4). At that point, it seemed like Alcaraz could end up losing in straight sets, but he fought back in the third set to win 6-4.

However, the real moment came in the fourth set. Towards the end of the set, Sinner was up 5-3, on the verge of winning this third set and subsequently, the championship. On Alcaraz's serve, Sinner was up 40-0 and reached triple championship point-- he was just one point away from the win, three times in a row. But each time, Alcaraz fought back hard, evening the score before winning the game. He continued to win three additional games in a row, moving him into the lead of the set at 6-5. Sinner gained a game back, though, sending the thriller of a fourth set into a tiebreaker.

The fifth set continued the extreme tension, with both Sinner and Alcaraz fighting hard. As Alcaraz began serving for the match at 5-4, Sinner broke his serve, evening the score at 5-5. While Sinner continued with some momentum and won the next game, Alcaraz made him work for it, and was able to win the next game to send the final set into another tiebreaker-- the third of the match.

By this point, Alcaraz was able to cruise through the tiebreak, winning the final set 7 (10) - 6 (2) and bringing home the French Open win after five hours and 29 minutes of playing-- the longest French Open final in the open era.

This is Alcaraz's fifth Grand Slam, and he is just 22 years old. This makes him just the third player to win five Grand Slams by age 22, after Björn Borg and Rafael Nadal. Meanwhile, Sinner has won three Grand Slams, the most recent of which was his crushing win in straight sets against Germany's Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open in January.

Upcoming Events:

• International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations (Tuesday, June 10)

• International Day of Play (Wednesday, June 11)

• World Day Against Child Labor (Thursday, June 12)

• US Open (Thursday, June 12 to Sunday, June 15)

• International Albinism Awareness Day (Friday, June 13)

• World Blood Donor Day (Saturday, June 14)

• 24 Hours of Le Mans (Saturday, June 14 to Sunday, June 15)

• World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (Sunday, June 15)

Fact of the Day (BBC): Mercury, not Venus, is the closest planet to Earth on average. On average, Mercury is 1.04 astronomical units (AU) away from Earth compared to the 1.14 AU average distance between Earth and Venus. One AU is equal to the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. Venus still comes closest to Earth as part of its orbit around the Sun, but Mercury is closer to Earth on average because it passes on the same side of the Sun as Earth more often due to its small orbit.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.

(Pema Chödrön)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Cataract (noun, KAT-uh-rakt) - Cataract refers to a clouding of the lens of the eye, or of its surrounding transparent membrane, that obstructs the passage of light. Cataract is also used, often in literature, to refer to a waterfall, steep rapids in a river, or to a downpour or flood.

In a Sentence: Cataracts are common but can be corrected with surgery.