At 21 years old, Carlos Alcaraz is already three-fourths of the way to the career Grand Slam.
Alcaraz, the champion of the 2022 U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 2023, outlasted Alexander Zverev 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in the French Open final on Sunday afternoon. The Spaniard triumphed after four hours and 19 minutes.
An inauspicious start to the match saw Zverev double-fault on each of the first two points on his way to getting broken. Although the German broke right back, the opening set hardly improved. Alcaraz added breaks in the seventh and ninth games, converting his first set point with a cross-court forehand winner.
Zverev had no trouble hitting back in the second. The 27-year-old was all over his opponent’s serve right from the start, generating three break chances in the first game after Alcaraz led 40-0. Zverev missed those opportunities, but he set the tone for getting himself back into the match. He soon broke Alcaraz at 2-2 and 4-2, the latter thanks to a double-fault on break point. Zverev served it out at love one game later to level the match at a set apiece.
Alcaraz undoubtedly should regained his set lead in the third, but he tightened up with the set on his racket. A meltdown by the world No. 3 on serve at 5-3 gave Zverev an opening and the underdog took it. In fact, from 5-2 down Zverev reeled off by five games in a row to completely steal a two sets to one advantage.
This final was marked by momentum swings; another one–and an extreme one–came in the fourth. Zverev managed to win just a single game and did not even hold serve once.
That set the stage for a decider that was much tenser than the 6-2 scoreline suggests. Zverev dropped serve at 1-1 but had plenty of chances to get back on level terms. The German generated four break points in the next game, one which featured an apparent double-fault by Alcaraz. An out call was overruled by chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein even though Hawkeye showed the mark to be wide (albeit inside the review system’s margin of error). Alcaraz eventually held and saved another break point at 3-2 for another clutch hold. Able to play with freedom as his lead remained intact, Alcaraz played a flawless final two games to clinch victory in style.
Alcaraz is the second player to win both his French Open semifinal and final in five sets–the first since Rod Laver in 1962. He beat Jannik Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Friday.
Zverev was playing in his second major final and bidding for his first Grand Slam title. The current world No. 4 lost to Dominic Thiem 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6) in the 2020 U.S. Open championship match.
