Carlos Alcaraz is a perfect 3-0 in Grand Slam finals after winning his first Roland Garros crown on Sunday, adding the Paris title to his trophy case alongside hardware from the 2022 US Open and Wimbledon in 2023. His 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory against Alexander Zverev was the latest major stride in what is shaping up to be a career-long race toward tennis history.
Three calendar years, three Grand Slam triumphs, three surfaces. At 21, Alcaraz is the youngest man to win a major on hard, grass and clay courts.
Lost in all the history, the hype, and the neat 3-0 final record are the challenges the Spaniard overcame in each of those title matches. None of those three trophy-clinchers came in straight sets, and there were moments in each when Alcaraz's opponent held the upper hand. The red dirt caked on his shirt during his Roland Garros celebrations was emblematic of the struggles the Spaniard suffered through en route to each of his Slam triumphs.
At the 2022 US Open, he reached his maiden major final behind an epic trilogy of late-night five-setters. In the championship round against Casper Ruud, the Spaniard saved two set points in a pivotal third set—both with fearless drop volleys—before winning in four to earn the title and his debut as world No. 1.
Last year at Wimbledon, Alcaraz appeared outclassed and out of his depth against four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in a 6-1 opening set for the Serb. But after five sets and four hours, 42 minutes, it was the electric youngster who lifted the trophy.
On Sunday in Paris, Zverev seemed to wrestle away control of the match with a clutch five-game run that turned a 5-2 third-set deficit into a winning 7-5 frame for the German. Just when it seemed the fourth seed was in pole position to win his first major title, Alcaraz regained the momentum just as quickly as he lost it, dropping just three combined games across his comeback effort in the fourth and fifth sets.
Adding to the legend of his maiden Roland Garros crown is the fact that he entered the event with serious injury concerns, having pulled out of Rome with a forearm issue in the buildup.
"It has been incredible work," Alcaraz said to his team during the trophy ceremony. "The last month we were struggling a lot with the injury. Looking back to Madrid, I didn't feel well. The next week there were a lot of doubts and then coming here and practicing not too much. I am really grateful to have the team that I have and the people I have around.
"I know that everyone in my team is giving their heart just to make me improve as a player and a person, to grow up. So I am really grateful and I call you a team, but it is a family."
With three Grand Slams to his name, Alcaraz's immediate future will see him bid to repeat as Wimbledon champion before he returns to the Paris clay to compete at the Olympics for the first time. After playing for his second US Open title this summer, he will aim to complete the career Grand Slam before his 22nd birthday next January at the 2025 Australian Open.
