Carlos Alcaraz Beats Zverev for 1st French Open Title as Fans Applaud Finals Comeback

Featured Columnist IVJune 9, 2024

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 09: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates a poin against Alexander Zverev of Germany during the Men's Singles Final match on Day 15 of the 2024 French Open at Roland Garros on June 09, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)

Mateo Villalba/Getty Images

For the second time in as many matches, Carlos Alcaraz battled back from the brink of elimination.

This time, it won him his first French Open.

Roland-Garros @rolandgarros
The moment Carlos Alcaraz won his first Roland-Garros title 🏆🇪🇸<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RolandGarros?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RolandGarros</a> <a href="https://t.co/a57JqQMJ1O">pic.twitter.com/a57JqQMJ1O</a>

Alcaraz stormed back from a 2-1 set deficit to defeat Alexander Zverev 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 and put himself within one major victory of completing the career Grand Slam. The 21-year-old has now won a Slam in three straight years as he continues to establish himself as the budding face of men's tennis. He's also the youngest player to win a major on all three surfaces.

The Tennis Letter @TheTennisLetter
Carlos Alcaraz hits the shot of the match against Zverev at Roland Garros. He was so far off the court. But his athleticism and speed are out of this world. One handed backhand flick lob. Utter perfection. 🇪🇸 <a href="https://t.co/tmtTcH8hry">pic.twitter.com/tmtTcH8hry</a>

Bastien Fachan @BastienFachan
Carlos Alcaraz, age 12: 'My dream if I become a pro is to win Roland-Garros and Wimbledon' Carlos Alcaraz, age 21: TITLES AT BOTH ROLAND-GARROS AND WIMBLEDON 🏆🏆 <a href="https://t.co/9Ec9qqcAyz">pic.twitter.com/9Ec9qqcAyz</a>

Gaspar Ribeiro Lança @gasparlanca
Carlos Alcaraz is now: — The youngest man ever to become World No. 1 (19 years, 4 months, 6 days old) — The youngest man ever to win a Grand Slam title on all three surfaces (21 years, 1 month, 3 days old) — The first man to win his first 3 Major titles on 3 different surfaces

The Big Three @Big3Tennis
The Big Three era ending, whenever it does will be extremely sad, but tennis is in great hands with Alcaraz and Sinner.

Rafa Nadal @RafaelNadal
Enhorabuena <a href="https://twitter.com/carlosalcaraz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@carlosalcaraz</a> por esta inmensa victoria!!!! Grande!!!! Muy contento por tus éxitos !!! 🇪🇸 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vamos?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Vamos</a> <a href="https://t.co/bIBbJhyh4B">https://t.co/bIBbJhyh4B</a>

Sunday's triumph was an exercise in perseverance.

Alcaraz overcame six double-faults and 23 break points to come back against Zverev, who undoubtedly feels like he left his first Grand Slam championship on the table. The German completed only six of his break-point chances, compared to a 9-of-16 break rate from Alcaraz.

Scott Barclay @BarclayCard18
The absolute mountain between Carlos Alcaraz's highs and lows and how quickly he goes between the two should honestly be studied by scientists. 😂

Zverev's loss continues to establish him as one of the greatest tennis players in history to never win a major. His career prize money ranks among the highest in the history of the sport, and this is the eighth time he's reached at least the semifinals of a Grand Slam before falling short.

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The French Open continues to be Zverev's best option, as he's reached the semis or finals in four straight years.

Both of Zverev's major finals have also been heartbreaking losses. He dropped a 2-0 set lead to Dominic Thiem and lost in a tiebreak at the 2020 U.S. Open and again fell short after taking a lead Sunday against Alcaraz.

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