Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz wins French Open for third career major title, beating Alexander Zverev in final

Carlos Alcaraz is the king of Roland-Garros.

The 21-year-old Spaniard became the youngest man to win a major across all three tennis surfaces, claiming the French Open singles crown on Sunday (9 June). He toppled Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in five sets, 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.

Alcaraz has roared to a perfect 3-0 in major finals, adding his win in Paris on clay to his US Open triumph (hard court) in 2022 and Wimbledon (grass) last year.

Alcaraz joins Spanish compatriot Rafael Nadal as the only man to win a Roland-Garros title under the age of 22 since the year 2000 (Nadal did so 2005-07).

The No.4-seeded Alcaraz didn’t panic after dropping the third set, and going two-sets-to-one down. He raced through the fourth and then kept his momentum going, denying Zverev a shot at his first major in his second Grand Slam final (US Open 2020).

Alcaraz hit 56 winners in the match, which lasted four hours and 19 minutes in Court Philippe Chatrier. The Olympic tennis event is set for the Stade Roland-Garros venue for Paris 2024, and set to start 27 July.

Alcaraz beat Australian Open winner and No.1-to-be Jannik Sinner in a five set semi-final, too, after taking out No.9 seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. Alcaraz brings his head-to-head with Zverev to 5-5, including two-all in Grand Slam play.

It’s a 14th career singles title for Alcaraz, and a seventh on clay.

“The last month we were struggling a lot with my injury,” Alcaraz said, noting the forearm issue that had hindered his clay season. “I didn’t feel well, there were a lot of doubts. Coming here, I didn’t practice much. I’m grateful to have the team that I do.

He added: “When I was a kid, I would come home from school and turn the TV on to watch this tournament. Now I’m lifting the trophy.”