Carlos Alcaraz defends French Open title after epic final but loses £639,000 to taxes

Carlos Alcaraz is in danger of losing a significant portion of his French Open prize money. The 22-year-old clinched his second Roland Garros title on Sunday, defeating Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller with a score of 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6.

The final lasted more than five hours and became the longest in the competition's history. It became the second-longest final in the history of Grand Slams in the Open era. The victory was even sweeter for Alcaraz, as he managed to save three championship points in the fourth set.

With that title under his belt, Alcaraz won a whopping prize money of more than £2 million. However, according to a report published by the English media outlet Daily Express, he will lose a significant portion of it due to the country's taxation rules.

The report stated that France has taxation rules where people are supposed to pay 30% of the money earned. As a result, he will lose £639,000 in tax and take home less than £1.5 million. On the other hand, Sinner received prize money of £1.07 million for finishing second on the big day.

Talking after the match, Alcaraz praised Sinner for his effort in what turned out to be one of the greatest matches in the tournament's history. The 22-year-old stated that he feels ‘privileged’ to share the court with Sinner.

"I want to start with Jannik,” he said. “It is amazing the level you have. Congratulations for an amazing tournament, to you, your team. I know the hard work you put in every day, it is huge. I know how hard you are chasing this tournament, you're going to be champion not once, but many times. It's a privilege to share a court with you in every tournament, making history with you. I'm just really happy to be able to make history with you in this tournament and other tournaments. You are a huge inspiration for the young kids, for everyone, for myself as well, I have to say thank you for being such a great inspiration."