Carlos Alcaraz wins 2024 French Open

Carlos Alcaraz (YouTube)

Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed, of El Palmar, Spain has won the 2024 French Open. In Sunday’s final, he defeated the fourth seed, Alexander Zverev of Germany in five sets, 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. It was a match that lasted four hours and 19 minutes.

Statistically, this was not considered the most clean match on either side of the net. In all, there were 97 unforced errors, with Alcaraz having 56 and Zverev having 41. Alcaraz however had 52 winners compared to 38 for Zverev, an had the edge when it came to net points won. Alcaraz won 63% of net points (25 of 40), compared to Zverev, who won 57% of net points (30 of 53).

In beating Zverev on clay, Alcaraz made tennis history. According to Joyce Li of Hypebeast, at 21 years of age, Alcaraz became the youngest tennis player all-time to win a grand slam on all three surfaces. He previously beat Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the final of the 2022 United States Open on hard court, and then Novak Djokovic of Wimbledon, 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the final of Wimbledon in 2023 on grass. The previous youngest tennis player to win a grand slam on all three surfaces was Rafael Nadal of Spain at 22 years old.

Alcaraz becomes the eighth Spanish man to win a French Open singles title. He follows Manuel Santana of Madrid (1961 and 1964), Andres Gimeno of Barcelona (1972), Sergi  Bruguera of Barcelona (1993 and 1994), Carlos Moya of Madrid (1998), Albert Costa of Lleida (2002), Juan Carlos Ferrero of Ontinyent (2003), and Rafael Nadal of Manacor (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022).

This is the second time in Zverev’s career he lost a grand slam final that went to five sets. He previously lost to Dominic Thiem of Austria in the final of the 2020 United States Open 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.