Carlos Alcaraz beat Alexander Zverev in the finals of the French Open 2024 Men's Singles to win the third Grand Slam of his career and then entered a prestigious record while at it.
The young Spanish superstar and his German opponent pushed each other to the limit. It took them five sets to settle the match, which lasted four hours and 19 minutes.
Alcaraz not only won a third major title but also entered the record books as he became the youngest player in professional tennis to win a title on three surfaces.
He now has titles in clay court (French Open 2024), grass court (Wimbledon Open 2023), and hard court (U.S. Open 2022).
If the number of games needed to achieve this is considered, Alcaraz stands alone at the top, as it took only 13 games to accomplish the feat.
Carlos Alcaraz joins Jimmy Connors and Rafael Nadal in record books
The previous record was held by Jimmy Connors and Rafael Nadal, who needed 20 games to win on all types of tennis courts.
Fourth seed Zverev came into the tournament as the favorite to win it all, owing to the momentum he ruled the Italian Open victory in May.
His finals opponent, currently world no. 1 and the third seed, was also not 100 percent healthy leading up to Roland Garros and played fewer matches.
Alcaraz did not need some "warm-up" games to excel in the majors.
"I consider myself a player who doesn't need too many matches on my back just to get at 100%," said Alcaraz.
"I had a really good week here in Paris, practicing with good players. I felt really well playing sets, moving, hitting my shots before the tournament began. Obviously, every match that I have played, I was getting better and better."
Alcaraz is bringing back the French Open trophy to Spain.
Roland Garros is a tournament virtually owned by Rafael Nadal, who won it 14 times from 2005 to 2022.
Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka both managed to get one in 2006 and 2015, respectively.
Djokovic got his 2016, 2021, and 2023.
Zverev was very sport about the loss and commended Alcaraz saying there's more to come for the young man.
"It's an amazing career already. You're already a Hall of Famer. You already achieved so much - and you're only 21 years old," Zverev said.
"Incredible player. Not the last time you're going to win this."
Other records owned by Carlos Alcaraz
What Zverev said is not plucked out of thin air. Alcaraz has been a wunderkind ever since he joined the pro ranks.
He has been breaking records here and there.
At the French Open 2024, he remained undefeated in Grand Slam finals, extending his record to 3-0.
This makes him just the seventh men's singles player to win all their first three majors in the Open Era. Other names in the mix are Gustavo Kuerten, Stefan Edberg, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Jimmy Connors, and Stan Wawrinka.
He also became the second player to win Ronald Garros before turning 22. The youngest is his fellow Spanish Rafael Nadal.
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