Carlos Alcaraz Claims His First French Open Title

On Sunday in Paris, a four-hour-and-19-minute men’s final yielded a first-time French Open champion: world number three Carlos Alcaraz bested Alexander Zverev of Germany in five stirring sets, 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.

Going into today’s match, the stakes were high for both players: while Alcaraz told reporters that he wanted to add his name “to the list of Spanish players who won at Roland-Garros”—a nod to his lifelong hero Rafael Nadal, the king of clay, whom Zverev knocked out in the opening round of this tournament—fourth-seed Zverev, 27, was seeking his first Grand Slam title after only one prior appearance in a major final. (At the 2020 US Open, Dominic Thiem beat him in five grueling sets.) He was also, incredibly, only the second German player to reach the men’s singles final at the French in the Open Era (after Michael Stich in 1996).

Yet this was Alcaraz’s day: after stealing a hair-raising semifinal match from Jannik Sinner on Friday, the 21-year-old Spaniard followed up his wins at the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023 with his first title at Roland-Garros. (The win has also made him the youngest man to win a major title on three different surfaces.)

The (very loud) fans packing the Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday wanted a show—and that’s exactly what they got from both Alcaraz and Zverev, with no shortage of drama. After a wobbly start to the first set (both men double-faulted in their first service games almost immediately), Alcaraz battled his way to a cool 6-3 win. Yet Zverev, who’d lost a few opening sets over the last 15 days—including in his semifinal match against Casper Ruud—would not be deterred. He came back swinging in the second set, threatening Alcaraz with three break points in the 11-minute-long opening game. Though Alcaraz held, Zverev would get his break later on, taking a 3-2 lead that would pave his way to a 6-2 win.