World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz has not yet lost a grand slam final in his young career, defeating Casper Ruud in the 2022 US Open final and Novak Djokovic in that epic five-set Wimbledon final last year.
And now, the 21-year-old Spaniard has an opportunity to make it three wins out of three and become the youngest men’s player to win a grand slam on all three surfaces when he takes on world No. 4 Alexander Zverev in the men’s singles French Open final on Sunday.
Neither player has ever won at Roland Garros before, meaning that a new name will be engraved on the men’s trophy for the first time since 2016, when Novak Djokovic won the fist of his three titles.
Long-earmarked for greatness, there is a sense of a future superstar entering the arena when Alcaraz takes to the court, his flickers of potential igniting at last year’s Wimbledon final when he came back from two sets down to stun Djokovic.
With his five-set semifinal win over Jannik Sinner, he became the youngest men’s player to reach a final on all three surfaces, as well as the second-youngest French Open finalist since 2000, second only to his compatriot and idol Rafael Nadal.
“I have a special feeling at this tournament, because I remember when I finished school I’m running to my home just to put the TV on and watch the matches here in the French Open,” Alcaraz told reporters after his semifinal win, recalling his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero’s French Open win, as well Nadal’s 14 victories.
“I wanted to put my name on that list of the Spanish players who won this tournament. Not only Rafa. Ferrero, (Carlos) Moyá, (Albert) Costa, a lot of Spanish players, legends from our sport that won this tournament.
“I really want to put my name on that list, as well.”
But Zverev poses a formidable challenge for Alcaraz, and in fact leads the head-to-head between the players 5-4.
Zverev’s tournament has taken place against the backdrop of an assault case, which he and his former partner agreed to settle with no admission of guilt by Zverev, the Berlin Tiergarten District announced in a statement on Friday.
On that same day, Zverev defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud 2-6 6-2 6-4 6-2 in their semifinal, banishing memories of their last four encounter last year when Ruud dismantled him to reach the final for a second consecutive year.
The 27-year-old German has not reached a grand slam final since the 2020 US Open when he squandered a two set lead and was defeated by Dominic Thiem, though he is a frequent face in the latter stages of grand slams, especially at Roland Garros where he has reached the semifinals for the last four consecutive years.
It was at the French Open two years ago where he sustained an ankle injury that forced him to retire from his semifinal against Nadal and ended his season. Reaching this final, on the back of an Australian Open semifinal in January, confirms his comeback to the top echelons of the sport.
“In a grand slam final there are obviously no easy matches and no easy opponents,” he told reporters after his win against Ruud. “(Alcaraz) played a fantastic match today and fantastic tournament in general, I’m expecting a very difficult match.”
How to watch
The men’s French Open final will begin at 3 p.m. (9 a.m. ET) in Paris and, for US viewers, will be broadcast live on NBC and streamed live on Peacock. It will be available on Eurosport for European viewers.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
