The French Open final was tight as both great young players were performing at a very high level. The Paris crowd seemed firmly supporting Carlos Alcaraz, though. The 22-year-old won the clay-court Grand Slam and is by far the more demonstrative player on the court, especially in showing positivity.
Sinner is well-liked off the court, though. He is generally seen as a nice guy, just like Alcaraz. But the DJ in charge of the French Open music was apparently on Alcaraz's side as well.
The match went five sets and was in doubt until the fifth-set tie-break. This made the music that blared over the speakers odd. Instead of something middle of the road, Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" was turned out.
Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" used to disrespect Jannik Sinner
The song has become a staple of Boston Red Sox games when the Red Sox are ahead and about to win. It has also caught on at other sporting events, though tennis would seem not to have a true "home" crowd. Such was not the case in Paris; the crowd and the DJ were on Alcaraz's side.
The song was played after Alcaraz had managed to come back from two sets and had just won a game that seemed to potentially set him up to win the match or push or toward a decisive tie-break, one in which he would have the edge.
In other words, the disrespect for Jannik Sinner was palpable and unfair. He is the ATP No. 1-ranked player and not a bad guy. Was he recently suspended for failing two drug tests in March 2024? Yes, but he was initially found innocent of any intentional wrongdoing, and there was no firm evidence that he was guilty.
Did that affect which player the crowd rooted for? It shouldn't have, and hasn't affected any of Sinner's other matches. They simply supported Alcaraz.
The DJ should have been given a stern talking to after his decision to clearly also side with Alcaraz. Sinner is only 23 years old and will probably compete for titles at Roland Garros for many years, likely winning one or two. Let's hope they aren't all against Alcaraz with the same DJ, though.
There has been no official word on who Neil Diamond might have been pulling for, if he was interested in the match at all. He still has to smile that "Sweet Caroline" has found a second life long after its original 1969 release.