Four hours and 19 minutes. That is how long Carlos Alcaraz needed on 9 June 2024 to beat Alexander Zverev 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in the French Open men’s final, according to BBC Sport. A day earlier, Iga Swiatek had taken just 68 minutes to win the women’s title.
Alcaraz fights back
The 21-year-old Spaniard came from two sets to one down on Court Philippe-Chatrier. His first Roland Garros title made him the youngest man to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces. Tennis Majors added that he is the first player of the Open era to win his first three Grand Slam finals on three different surfaces, and that he returns to No 2 in the world.
It was not a clean match. The third-seeded Alcaraz had not played for a month because of pain in his right forearm, missed the Italian Open, and wore a support throughout the tournament. Zverev, the fourth seed, arrived with a Rome title and a 12-match winning streak on clay. Tennis Majors called the contest one of swaying momentum, with each man surging in turn.
Zverev opened with two double faults and lost serve at once, then broke back. After Alcaraz took the first set, Zverev won five games in a row to level, and he stole a tense third set after Alcaraz had led 5-2. Then the match turned again. Alcaraz led 4-0 in the fourth, despite needing treatment for a leg injury, and broke for 5-2 in the decider with a cross-court backhand.
He fell onto his back after the winning forehand, a celebration BBC Sport likened to that of 14-time champion Rafael Nadal. “I used to watch the tournament on television and I’m now lifting the title,” Alcaraz said. Six-time champion Bjorn Borg presented the trophy.
Zverev, who had spent almost 24 hours on court, took the longest route to a French Open final since records began in 1991. This was his second Grand Slam final defeat, after the 2020 US Open against Dominic Thiem. “I feel like I did everything I could,” he said, and praised Alcaraz as a future winner of many more titles.
Swiatek’s third in a row
The women’s final was close to the opposite. Swiatek, the world number one from Poland, beat Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1. Paolini, the 12th seed, was playing her first major final and broke early for 2-1. Swiatek won 11 of the next 12 games.
The result gave the 23-year-old a fourth Paris title and a fifth Grand Slam, after the 2022 US Open. Only Monica Seles and Justine Henin had previously won three straight women’s titles in the Open era. Swiatek is the youngest of that era to win four at Roland Garros.
BBC Sport listed the numbers behind it: 21 consecutive French Open wins, the fourth longest streak in women’s singles of the Open era, and a record of 35 wins from 37 matches in Paris. She had also won the Madrid and Rome titles beforehand. Tennis Majors said that makes her the third woman to take all three major clay-court titles in a season.
“I love this place, I wait every year to play here,” Swiatek said. Paolini, who rises to a career-high No 7, told her that playing her there is the toughest challenge in the sport.
Sources
- Carlos Alcaraz wins maiden Roland-Garros title – Tennis Majors
- French Open 2024 results: Carlos Alcaraz sees off Alexander Zverev in Roland Garros final – BBC Sport
- French Open 2024 results: Iga Swiatek beats Jasmine Paolini to win Roland Garros title – BBC Sport
- Unstoppable Swiatek powers past Paolini to win fourth Roland-Garros title – Tennis Majors
