The finalists of the 2024 French Open is set for Sunday. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, the third ranked player in the world, will face world number four Alexander Zverev of Germany.
In the semifinals, Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner of Italy, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. It was the second time that Alcaraz beat Sinner in a match that went five sets. The first time was the quarterfinals of the 2022 United States Open, which Alcaraz won 6-3, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3. It should be noted however that even though Sinner lost on Friday, he will still be the world number one on Monday. In fact if Alcaraz were to win the French Open, he would pass current world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia too, and be ranked second. That would mean Djokovic could drop from first to third.
One turning point in Alcaraz’s win came in the third set. That is when Sinner experienced some cramps to his hands.
In the other semifinal matchup, Zverev defeated Casper Ruud of Norway, the seventh seed, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Midway through the match, Ruud was experiencing some stomach pain, which gave Zverev a definite edge. Another major reason why Zverev got the win is because his serve was working very well. Zverev has 19 aces compared to four for Ruud.
This will be the 10th career meeting between Alcaraz and Zverev. To date, Zverev has won five of nine prior meetings. This will be only the second time they have met in a final. The first time was the 2022 Madrid Masters, which Alcaraz won rather easily in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
