French Open,
Sunday, 9 June, 2024
McCreadie
Carlos Alcaraz fought back to defeat Alexander Zverev in a five-set French Open final on Sunday and become the youngest man to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces.
The Spaniard battled cramps to recover from 2-1 down in sets and win a gripping contest 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 after four hours and 19 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
“I was running when I finished school to put the TV on just to watch this tournament and now I’m lifting the trophy in front of all of you, so thank you very much for everything,” an emotional Alcaraz said to his family watching on.
Alcaraz adds the Roland Garros crown to the Wimbledon title he won against Novak Djokovic last year and the 2022 US Open.
He will head to the Australian Open next year with the chance to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.
Fourth seed Zverev, who settled a court case in Germany two days ago over domestic abuse allegations, is still waiting for a maiden major title.
He had also lost his only previous Slam final in five sets when he blew a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.
Zverev had high hopes of finally getting over the line – he has also lost six Slam semi-finals – but Alcaraz was too strong in the key moments as he levelled their head-to-head record at 5-5.
“It’s been amazing. The atmosphere, the support has been amazing,” said the German.
Alcaraz said before the final he wanted to join the list of men’s players from his country, including his idol Rafael Nadal, to win the Roland Garros title, and he celebrated becoming the eighth Spanish champion by falling to the clay with his head in his hands in disbelief.
“Congratulations Carlos for this immense victory! Wonderful! Very happy for your successes! Vamos,” tweeted Nadal.