There were twists and turns and the occasional nightmare, but Carlos Alcaraz finally turned his childhood dream into reality by winning the French Open.
The brilliant 21-year-old defeated Alexander Zverev in five undulating, vibrant sets to take his place in the proud lineage of Spaniards who have won this title.
He is a US Open and Wimbledon champion, but this is the one he wanted the most. Alcaraz becomes the youngest man to win a Grand Slam on three different surfaces, while Zverev’s wait for his first major title continues.
This was the first Roland Garros final without Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic since 2004. And if Nadal has made winning this tournament look absurdly easy, these two sometimes made it look terrifyingly difficult.
Alcaraz’s form has been inconsistent throughout this tournament and he had two shocking runs in this match, going from 2-1 to 2-6 in the second set and from 5-2 to 5-7 in the third.
Carlos Alcaraz won the French Open for the first time by beating Alexander Zverev
Zverev was a set ahead at one point, but Alcaraz showed impressive spirit to recover.
After winning, Alcaraz collapsed on the clay like Rafael Nadal, whom he idolized
Zverev stayed the course well and made the most of those Alcaraz drops of form but, despite his 6ft 6in frame and 140mph serve, it still feels like the German’s game is built around his opponents missing , instead of grabbing the nettle himself.
Alcaraz is the polar opposite and I felt that the man who took the biggest risks and made the most inventive and spectacular shots won this title. His 55 unforced errors show that he was far from perfect, but 52 winners, many of them impressive, comfortably surpassed Zverev’s 38.
Alcaraz had a terribly nervous start in his successful semi-final against Jannik Sinner, but here he seemed much calmer.
It was Zverev who came out cold, starting with two double faults in a row and a quick racket change; he seemed unhappy with the grip.
Alcaraz managed just two breaks of Zverev’s serve in their four-set loss in Australia this year; here he had two in the first five games.
Alcaraz was quite brilliant in the first set. Zverev is a player who loves rhythm and Alcaraz didn’t give him any: topspin, cut, short, deep, wide, narrow… Zverev never received the same ball twice in a row. He was forced to constantly change his position on the court, always not knowing whether to back away or push up.
After taking the first set, it seemed like all Alcaraz had to do was continue executing the game plan. But, as he still often does, he suffered a drop in form and seemed to go into autopilot. Zverev went into not-to-lose mode and took full advantage to break the lead to 3-2.
When he took a half-volley from Alcaraz and slid it crosswise to score the winning goal, it was the first time he truly electrified the crowd. Now we had a match in our hands.
Alcaraz went through difficult times but was still able to beat Zverev
Zverev managed to stay the course, but still seems to depend on the absence of his opponents.
Alcaraz hit some forehands and complained to the referee that there wasn’t enough clay on the court, the same reason Djokovic gave for his slip and knee injury on Monday.
Zverev increased the aggression, opened his shoulders on the right side and launched a winner down the line that showed Alcaraz that he could no longer play with impunity on that wing.
In the third set, it took Zverev until the sixth game to make an unforced error. But after that mistake, Alcaraz came back to life with a decisive comeback and an exciting net game to break.
Alcaraz fended off three break points in the next game, but Zverev came back in the next service game and broke with a trio of measured shots.
At 5-5, Alcaraz played an irregular match to break and suddenly, from 2-5 down, Zverev took the set 7-5.
It was difficult to keep up with these wild fluctuations in Alcaraz’s form, and at the start of the second set he broke with a shot that sailed over Zverev and back onto the court like an overtaking Formula One car.
There were two double faults from Zverev in his next service game and suddenly he was 4-0.
Zverev got a break in the next game and then Alcaraz received a medical timeout to receive treatment on his thigh, where he already had some straps. He wobbled, rather than jumped, over the line from there and the coach returned to take another look at that thigh before the final set.
Alcaraz had to fight hard to win the third Grand Slam of his career
There was frustration for Zverev at the end of a match in which he had given so much
At 1-1, Zverev scored two ugly volleys, then a double fault to go 0-40 down and then sent a backhand long. It was a surprisingly lax way to concede a break in the fifth set of a Grand Slam final.
But Alcaraz reciprocated his generosity and we were evenly matched again in a match that no one seemed able to fully understand.
Alcaraz, in turn, lost 0-40, but saved four break points to win an epic game with some brilliant shots.
He came in for the title when his opponent served at 4-2 and broke with the help of an impressive one-handed backhand pass that beat Zverev.
The double break insurance calmed the remaining nerves and Alcaraz served. He collapsed onto the clay a la Nadal, the man I used to run home from school to watch win titles here.