ATP News: The French Open final will pit Carlos Alcaraz against Alexander Zverev
After defeating Sinner, Alcaraz, 21, made history by being the youngest player to compete in a Grand Slam final on all three surfaces. The Spaniard defeated the Italian to advance to the final on the red clay of Roland Garros after winning on the hard courts of the U.S. Open in 2022 and the grass courts of Wimbledon in 2023.
In Sunday’s title match, Alcaraz will take on Germany’s Alexander Zverev, ranked fourth. Zverev defeated Norway’s seventh-seeded Casper Ruud 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal on Friday to get to his first French Open final.
The defending Australian Open champion, Sinner, overcame a hand cramp to take a 2-1 lead in sets, but Alcaraz came back strong. Alcaraz won the match in four hours and ten minutes thanks to a solid service effort that helped them win the fourth set. They then broke the Italian early in the final set.
Alcaraz stated, “You must discover the joy in suffering.” “That’s crucial, especially on clay in Roland Garros. Extended rallies, four-hour games, and five sets. You have to battle, you have to suffer, but you also have to love suffering, I told my squad. In going 5-4 in head-to-head matches, Alcaraz had a 65-39 advantage in wins over Sinner.
In his brief career, Alcaraz claimed that his battles versus Jannik had been the hardest. This one is the 2022 U.S. Open. Jannik is a superb athlete. Because of his team and the excellent effort he puts in every day, I want to play him in many, many more matches like this one. It is undoubtedly one of the most difficult games I have ever played.
Sinner, 22, will go up to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday, despite the defeat. In the Gram Slam semifinals, Zverev ended a run of five straight losses and advanced to the major final for the first time since falling to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 U.S. Open. In 2021, 2022, and 2023, he had fallen short in the French Open semifinals; in the latter, he fell in straight sets to Ruud.
When Zverev faced Rafael Nadal in 2022, he had a serious ankle injury that required him to withdraw during the second set. After the match on Friday, 27-year-old Zverev declared, “I am very happy.” “I’ve spent a lot of time on this court, where I’ve had both great and terrible memories.” Being in the final of my fourth semifinal makes me very delighted. On Sunday, I’m going to put my all into it.
Zverev’s match winning streak at 11 this year came to an end on Friday when Ruud, 25, looked off to a solid start, leading 3-0 and taking the opening set. However, as the match went on, the German grew stronger, and early in the third set, the Norwegian appeared tired and consulted a trainer for a stomach ailment.
After winning in two hours and thirty-five minutes, Zverev ended the match with his 13th straight service hold. In total, he had 19 aces, won 48 out of 56 first-serve points (86 percent), converted five of twelve break-point possibilities, and outscored Ruud 54 to 34 in wins.
“Casper is too skilled a player to wait and not participate in your game,” Zverev remarked. “Last year, I tried it and quickly lost. The balls went in today, and I’m glad I was able to be much more aggressive and take it on from him.
In addition to upsetting 14-time winner Rafael Nadal of Spain in the opening round and defeating Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands and Holger Rune of Denmark in back-to-back five-set sets, Zverev became the first German player to reach the French Open final since Michael Stich in 1996.