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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
PARIS – Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam title on all three surfaces after defeating Alexander Zverev in five sets to capture the French Open on Sunday.
The two battled for 4 hours, 19 minutes, but Alcaraz won 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. His 2024 French Open title goes along with victories at the 2022 US Open and at Wimbledon last year.
“Winning a Grand Slam is always special,” Alcaraz said. “Winning for the first time at every Grand Slam is always super special.
“But at Roland Garros, knowing all the Spanish players who have won this tournament and being able to put my name on the amazing list is something unbelievable. It’s something I’ve dreamed about in this position since I started playing tennis, since I was 5, 6 years old .”
The victory ensured Alcaraz’s place in tennis history, as he became the seventh player to win a Slam event on all three surfaces — following in the footsteps of Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. But he is the youngest to achieve the feat, having turned 21 in May.
Nadal completed the trio at 22 years, 7 months when he won the 2009 Australian Open.
Alcaraz said the French Open was the most important for him, as he entered the competition with injury concerns.
“Maybe this is the moment I’m most proud of myself, because everything I’ve done in the last month is just to prepare for this tournament with my team, a lot of discussions with them,” said Alcaraz. “So I would say this is what I’m most proud of.”
Nadal, who won his 14th singles title at Roland Garros, offered his congratulations after the match, posting on X: “Congratulations Carlos for this great victory !!!! Big !!!! So happy for the success !!!”
This is Zverev’s second Grand Slam final, but he has now lost in five sets, having lost the 2020 US Open final to Dominic Thiem.
“It is what it is,” Zverev said. “Look, he played fantastically. He played better than me in the fourth and fifth sets. It’s like that. I feel like in this Grand Slam final, I did everything I could. At the US Open, I gave myself. It was a bit strange.”
Meanwhile, Alcaraz became the first man at the French Open to win a five-set match in the semifinals and final since Rod Laver in 1962 — and only the eighth time he has done so at a Grand Slam event since the Open era began in 1968. .
Alcaraz comes into this event on the back of an arm injury that forced him to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open. He lost in Madrid to Andrey Rublev and withdrew from Rome with the same injury. So he only had four matches on clay coming into the tournament, but he came into the opening round full of confidence despite saying he couldn’t hit his forehand at full strength. He sent JJ ​​Wolf, Jesper De Jong, Seb Korda, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas into the semi-finals with the incumbent world No.1 Jannik Dosa, but Alcaraz won 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6. -4, 6-3.
Zverev won the Italian Open and then opened his Roland Garros campaign by beating 14-time champion Nadal in the first round. He then passed David Goffin, Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune, Alex de Minaur and Casper Ruud to book his place in the final. While Zverev was playing at Roland Garros, a trial was held in his home country of Germany, where he was accused of domestic violence with an ex-girlfriend. On Friday, it was announced that Zverev had agreed to an out-of-court settlement.
Alcaraz started Sunday’s match as the better player of the two, taking the first set 6-1. He then went up a break in the second, only for Zverev to win the next five games. The same thing happened in the third set, Alcaraz went up 5-2, only to lose 7-5.
Alcaraz underwent treatment on his left leg during the break, and continued physio work in the shift.
“That was something I felt in the semifinals,” Alcaraz said. “Playing five sets, it’s demanding. After the match you’ll feel something. If you don’t, you’re not human.”
After taking the fourth set 6-1, Alcaraz started fifth in the ascendancy and went up to break, but Zverev threatened to break again.
Down 2-1, Zverev had two break points, and thought he would win the game when Alcaraz double-faulted at 15-40. The ball was called, only for referee Renaud Lichtenstein to beat it and deem it, meaning the spot would be replayed.
Zverev later said he had seen footage showing the ball had in fact gone out.
“I mean, look, there’s a difference whether you’re down 3-1 in the fifth set or you’re back to 2-all. That’s the decisive difference,” Zverev said afterwards. “Yeah, it was frustrating at the end, but whatever. Referees make mistakes. They’re human too, and that’s okay. But of course, in a situation like that, you want no mistakes.”
From there, Alcaraz saved four break points in the game and closed out the fifth set to secure the title and improve his record to 11-1 in five-set matches.
“I knew when I played the fifth set, you have to give it your all, you have to give it your heart,” Alcaraz said. “At the moment, where the top players give the best tennis. I want to be one of the best tennis players in the world, so I have to give extra in that moment and show my opponent that I’m fresh – like me. I played in the first game from the match.”
Alcaraz now plans to get the tattoo on Sunday — June 9, 2024 — to participate in two more Grand Slam dates.
“I’m definitely going to do it,” said Alcaraz, who has a US Open tattoo on his neck. “(This tattoo) will be on the left ankle, Wimbledon is on the right, this will be on the left, with today’s date. That’s what I’m going to do. I don’t know if it’ll take a month, or two months, but I’ll exercise.
“I just want to keep going, and let’s see how many Grand Slams I’ll win at the end of my career. I hope to reach 24, but for now I’ll be happy with the third one, and let’s see tomorrow.”
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
