Third-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz takes on fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev in the men’s final of French Open 2024 at Roland Garros, Paris on Sunday.
The clash is set to take place on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Preview
The French Open is set to have a new men’s champion as Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev will compete for the iconic Musketeers Cup at Roland Garros.
The last time the clay Major had a first-time winner was back in 2016 when Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in the final.
Records on offer
Alcaraz
1 – He is aiming to be the first male player to win his first three Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces.
7 – He is looking to become the seventh and youngest man to capture Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces.
7 – He is attempting to be the seventh different Spanish man to lift the Roland Garros title in Open era.
Zverev
1 – He aims to become the first German man to capture the Roland Garros title in the Open era.
3 – He is looking to be the third German men’s singles Grand Slam champion in Open Era, joining Boris Becker (6) and Michael Stich (1).
8 – He aims to become the eighth man to win Rome & Roland Garros in the same year in Open era.
Alcaraz came into this tournament with barely any game time on clay due to a forearm injury. Still, the Spaniard did not face many issues in the first five rounds, including a straight-sets win over 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas which extended his head-to-head advantage to 6-0
However, he looked in trouble when reigning Australian Open champion and soon-to-be World No. 1 Jannik Sinner took a two-sets-to-one lead against him in the semifinals. The 21-year-old Spaniard found another gear in the last two sets and completed a memorable comeback to become the youngest man in the Open era to reach Grand Slam finals on all three surfaces. For the third year in a row, he is in a Major final and continues to prove that he is one of the rising stars.
Someone who did show promise at Alcaraz’s age but failed to live up to the expectations is Zverev. The 27-year-old German reached his only Major final four years ago at US Open where he choked against Dominic Thiem after winning the first two sets.
Zverev seemed to be finding another level to his game in 2022 when an unfortunate ankle injury in the French Open semifinals against Rafael Nadal came as a massive set back.
Two years later, things are finally falling in place for the German.
The fourth seeded German entered the tournament after winning the Italian Open and began his campaign by knocking out 14-time champion Nadal in the first round. He even overcame wobbles against Tallon Griekspoor in third and Holger Rune in fourth round to win gruelling five-set battles. He also got redemption for last year’s semifinal defeat to Casper Ruud by beating the Norwegian at the same stage this time. All this while, the German also had a trial going on against him as his former girlfriend had accused him of domestic abuse but that case too was closed on Friday with an out-of-court settlement.
When it comes to head-to-head record, Zverev leads Alcaraz 5-4. They have faced each other four times in Majors and Alcaraz has only won once. In their most recent Grand Slam meeting during this year’s Australian Open, the 6’6” tall German served out of his mind to put Alcaraz on the backfoot. The Spaniard did manage to win one set but he mostly found himself searching for ideas.
Not only has Zverev served well in this edition of the French Open, his backhand has been a strong weapon. Unless Alcaraz and his coach and former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero find a solution to the big game of the German, it is going to be extremely tough for the Spaniards to stop Zverev from opening his Grand Slam account.
When and where to watch?
French Open 2024 final between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev is set to begin around 6PM IST on Sunday, June 9. You can watch the live telecast of the French Open on the Sony Sports Network and stream the matches live on SonyLiv and JioTV.
Head-to-head record
Played:9 | Alcaraz: 4 | Zverev: 5
| YEAR | TOURNAMENT | ROUND | WINNER | SCORE |
| 2024 | INDIAL WELLS MASTERS | QUARTERFINAL | ALCARAZ | 6-3, 6-1 |
| 2024 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN | QUARTERFINAL | ZVEREV | 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4 |
| 2023 | ATP FINALS | ROUND ROBIN | ZVEREV | 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 |
| 2023 | US OPEN | QUARTERFINAL | ALCARAZ | 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 |
| 2023 | MADRID OPEN | ROUND OF 16 | ALCARAZ | 6-1, 6-2 |
| 2022 | FRENCH OPEN | QUARTERFINAL | ZVEREV | 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7) |
| 2022 | MADRID OPEN | FINAL | ALCARAZ | 6-3, 6-1 |
| 2021 | VIENNA (ATP 500) | SEMIFINAL | ZVEREV | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 2021 | ACAPULCO (ATP 500) | ROUND OF 32 | ZVEREV | 6-3, 6-1 |
Route to final
Alcaraz
Semifinal: Beat [2] Jannik Sinner (ITA) 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Quarterfinal: Beat [9] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-4
Round of 16: Beat [21] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
Round of 32: Beat [27] Sebastian Korda (USA) 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-3
Round of 64: Beat [Q] Jesper De Jong (NED) 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Round of 128: Beat [LL] J.J. Wolf (USA) 6-1, 6-2, 6-1
Zverev
Semifinal: Beat [7] Casper Ruud (NOR) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2
Quarterfinal: Beat [11] Alex De Minaur (AUS) 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-4
Round of 16: Beat [13] Holger Rune (DEN) 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-2
Round of 32: Beat [26] Tallon Griekspoor (NED) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3)
Round of 64: Beat David Goffin (BEL) 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-2
Round of 128: Beat Rafael Nadal (ESP) 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3
