Carlos Alcaraz saved three match points as he came from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner and retain his French Open title.
The epic finished 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 after five hours and 29 minutes on centre court.
Alcaraz pulled off his salvage operation when Sinner, up two sets to one, led 5-3 in the fourth set.
The 22-year-old Spaniard fell to 0-40 on his serve as Sinner appeared to have a clasp on the Coupe des Mousquetaires perched just behind him on the ledge of the presidential tribune at the Roland Garros Stadium.
But Alcaraz refused to yield. For a brief moment in legend, control replaced flamboyance allowing him to claw his way back and force Sinner to serve for match.
The 23-year-old, who lost to Alcaraz at the Italian Open earlier in May, could not.
And Alcaraz went on to take the fourth set shoot-out seven points to three to level the match at two sets apiece after four hours and 12 minutes.
Marathon opening game
Four hours earlier, a 12-minute opening game in which Sinner saved five break points before holding his serve augured the swings and roundabouts to follow as ascendancy flitted between the contenders.
Alcaraz eventually claimed Sinner's service in the opener to lead 3-2 but was immediately pegged back to 3-3.
The Italian took the set 6-4 and moved into a 3-0 lead in the second set displaying the composure and surgical precision which had cut through the players in the top half of the men's singles draw.
He served for the set at 5-3 but faltered as Alcaraz began to find his range and brio to go on a three-game winning streak.
Sinner stopped the rot to level at 6-6 and he ran away with the shoot-out seven points to four to take a 6-4, 7-6 lead after nearly two hours.
Turn in fortune
The turn in fortune came, appropriately for a showman like Alcaraz, when the gig looked done.
In the third set, with a point to consolidate the advantage, Sinner put the shot for 2-0 - a routine forehand - into the tramlines.
Reprieved, Alcaraz went on a four-game winning streak and held his advantage to serve for the set at 5-3.
Sinner stopped him to peg him back to 5-4. But he still had to hold his service.
And there, the third set spectacular kicked in. A couple of Sinner errors allowed Alcaraz to within two points of claiming it.
A forehand winner down the line notched up three set points and a vicious forehand drive and a volley into the open court brought the explosion of joy from the stands.
Alcaraz held his hand to his ear to soak up the adoration as he gained a foothold.
And it was he who wore the mantle of the home town hero. Every winning point was raucously greeted after he broke Sinner at the outset of the decider to take control of the match.
Change of circumstances
Sixty-nine minutes after serving for his first French Open crown, Sinner had to hold serve to stay in the contest. He fulfilled that mission.
Five hours into what had become a landmark and around 75 minutes since saving match points, Alcaraz stepped up for his tilt at glory.
He declined the invitation and then with Sinner leading 6-5 lead, he held his nerve to take the match into a final set 10-point super tiebreak.
Alcaraz turned that extended shoot-out into his own money-time extravaganza.
He waltzed into a 7-0 lead spraying forehand winners and a drop shot, drive volley combination to bedazzle Sinner and and become only the eighth man since tennis was opened up to professional players to retain the French Open crown.
"It was a privilege to share this history with you," Alcaraz told Sinner after receiving his trophy from the 1999 champion Andre Agassi.
"You are an inspiration for so many young players," Alcaraz added as he savoured his fifth triumph at a Grand Slam tournament.
"And you are an inspiration for me. I want to congratulate you on the fortnight you have played."
Sinner, in only his second tournament after returning from a three-month doping ban, hailed his conqueror. "Amazing performance, congrats Carlos. Well done to you and your team."
And gesturing to the packed stands, he added: "Thank you for the support throughout the fortnight. It has been amazing. I hope to see you next year."
