The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz won his first title at Roland-Garros by defeating the German Alexander Zverev after five hotly contested sets in 4 hours 19 minutes (6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 ), this Sunday, June 9. He succeeds the Serbian Novak Djokovic on the list and will steal 2nd place in the ATP rankings from June 10. At 21, he won his third Grand Slam title after his triumphs at the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023.
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A monster of precocity, Alcaraz became this June 9, at 21 years and one month, the youngest winner of Grand Slam tournaments on the three reference surfaces (hard, clay and grass) during the Open era, ahead of Rafael Nadal (22 years and 7 months). All after being the youngest world number 1 in history at 19 years, 4 months and 6 days.
He arrived in Paris as a favorite, despite doubts surrounding his physical condition, with a right arm having suffered from muscular edema which forced him to take several weeks off. But Alcaraz has assumed this status. His fortnight was fairly quiet, until the duel won hard in the semi-final against his generational rival, the Italian Jannik Sinner (2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3) . His final was of the same ilk against Zverev, a valiant opponent who made life difficult for him throughout the 4h19 final with twists and turns.
The German appeared in great form, in the wake of his victory at the Masters 1000 in Rome preceding the Paris tournament. Mentally strong, he survived two marathons in five sets, navigating the tournament with also, in the back of his mind, the trial for domestic violence taking place in parallel in Berlin and which finally ended Friday with an agreement amicably.
A monstrous 5th set
But for his second Grand Slam final, after the one bitterly lost at the US Open 2020 against Dominic Thiem after having been two points from the coronation, Zverev fell on the Alcaraz rock. The Spaniard entered the match better, managing to take the opponent’s serve three times to lead the score.
But the German knew how to react after the loss of the first set, he proved it the three times it happened to him in this tournament. And like Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune and Casper Ruud, Alcaraz paid the price, bending under the first ball found by his rival. In the third set, trailed 5-2 by the Spaniard, Zverev found the resources to reverse the situation, putting together five games in a row.
Alcaraz quickly responded in the 4th set, taking advantage of Zverev’s drop in speed to escape 4-1, but he had to call on the physio to massage his left thigh. This did not handicap him unduly, quite the contrary. His fifth inning was stunning. A defensive monster capable of discouraging any opponent, he managed to seize his rival’s serve twice, but he also managed to erase five break points.
The Murcian played like a Martian and his “ Vamos ! » liberator, lying on the ocher to celebrate his triumph, furiously recalled that of an illustrious predecessor named Rafael Nadal. As far back as he can remember, “Carlitos” has always wanted to lift the Musketeers’ cup. “ This tournament is dear to me, because when I finished school, I would run home, turn on the TV and watch the matches. Those of Rafa, because he was the master here… Then, I said to myself : “I want to add my name to the list of Spaniards” “. That’s done.