21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title in 2022, when he won the US Open.
But he had never won the world’s biggest clay tournament, the French Open.
Played for over four hours
Until tonight.
Because after a more than four-hour long drama against German Alexander Zverev in Paris, the Spaniard was victorious with 3-2 in the set, after the set numbers 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-2,
Swinging finale
The final was at times exceptionally high class, with several performances of the highest class.
It was very swingy, with both players having sequences where they looked to have the upper hand.
Zverev’s second final loss
In the fifth and deciding set, Alcaraz broke Zverev’s serve early and took a 2–1 lead. He never let go of that lead, and after another break of serve, Alcaraz finally won the set 6–2. With that, he has now won all Grand Slam tournaments except the Australian Open.
– When I was a little boy, I ran home from school to turn on the TV and watch this tournament. Now I hold the cup myself, he said in his acceptance speech on the court after the match, where he thanked his family and his team.
The final loss was Alexander Zverev’s second in a Grand Slam context. Even the first time, against Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open, he lost a lead. He then led 2–0 in the set.
Borg handed out the trophy
Among the audience on site in Paris were, among others, Swedish tennis legends Björn Borg and Mats Wilander.
And it was precisely Borg, who 50 years ago won his first of six titles at Roland Garros, who presented the trophy to Alcaraz.
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