Alcaraz beats Zverev to win first French Open title
Carlos Alcaraz rallied to upset Alexander Zverev in a five-set French Open final on Sunday, becoming the youngest player to win a Grand Slam trophy on all three surfaces.After four hours and 19 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier, the 21-year-old overcame cramping to win a thrilling match 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 after falling behind 2-1 in sets.
Alcaraz adds the Roland Garros championship to his Wimbledon victory against Novak Djokovic last year and the 2022 US Open.
He will compete in the Australian Open next year, hoping to become the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam.
Fourth seed. Zverev, who settled a court case in Germany two days ago for domestic violence charges, is still
Waiting for a first major title.
He had also lost his only prior Slam final in five sets, squandering a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.
Zverev had great hopes of finally crossing the finish line — he has already lost six Slam semi-finals — but Alcaraz was too strong in crucial moments, tying their head-to-head record at 5–5.
Alcaraz stated before the final that he wanted to join the list of men's tennis players from his country, including his idol Rafael Nadal, who have won the Roland Garros title, and he celebrated becoming the eighth Spanish champion by falling to the clay in astonishment.
- Zverev's nervous start - Zverev struggled with double-faults
on the first two points of the match, before being broken in the first game.
But Alcaraz was not immune to the nerves of his first French Open final, framing a routine forehand into the stands and then double-faulting as he gave the break right back.
The Spaniard, on the other hand, quickly found his flow, breaking to love in the fifth game and winning the opener.
The teenager had to save three break points to hold in a 10-minute first game of the second set, but he fell behind 3-2 after failing to save two more break points as another forehand blasted into the crowd.
Zverev now had a bounce in his step, while Alcaraz
was forced to scramble at the back of the court after losing a double-break point with a double-fault.
Zverev closed up an ultimately one-sided second set with a hold for love.
The German extended his run of three consecutive love holds with two more early in the third set, before Alcaraz celebrated coming out of a difficult service game unscathed with a fist pump as he edged ahead 3-2 despite being primarily on the defensive.
Serving into an increasingly strong breeze, Zverev was caught off guard by an Alcaraz return that snuck past the net, allowing the Spaniard to break to love.
But he was unable to serve out the set, as a rasping Zverev passing shot secured a break back.
The failure to
Taking control of the match appeared to temporarily crush Alcaraz's spirit, as he lost five games in a row to drop the set.
Alcaraz fought hard and took a 2-0 lead in the fourth with a stunning curling goal on the run, thanks to a critical line call.
Just seconds before, Zverev was furiously protesting a correct line call, bringing jeers from the audience.
The German was spooked, and his serve began to fail him. Alcaraz raced through the fourth set to force a decider, despite having to take a medical time-out at 4-1 to receive treatment for an apparent cramp.
Zverev had won 10 of his previous 11 five-set matches at Roland Garros but handed Alcaraz
A break on a platter in the third game of the fifth.
Alcaraz stumbled, going behind 0-40 in the next game.
He appeared to have double-faulted on the second break point, but the chair umpire reversed the line judge's judgment of out, despite Zverev's passionate objections, and Hawkeye replays confirmed it was out.
Alcaraz went on to hold, which proved to be a deciding point in the game.
In game seven, Zverev fell behind by a double-break as Alcaraz stunned the crowd with an amazing flicked winner before hammering a forehand into the line.
He sealed a historic victory with a powerful forehand that Zverev could not return.
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