Tag: French

Carlos Alcaraz overcomes Zverev to win first French Open title

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Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after winning his men’s singles final match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day fifteen of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 9, 2024. (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP)

Carlos Alcaraz fought back to defeat Alexander Zverev in a five-set French Open final on Sunday and become the youngest man to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces.

The 21-year-old battled cramps to recover from 2-1 down in sets and win a gripping contest 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 after four hours and 19 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“Something that I dreamt about, being in this position, since I was started playing tennis, since I was five, six years old. So it’s a great, great feeling,” said Alcaraz.

READ: Carlos Alcaraz embraces ‘suffering’ to reach French Open final

Alcaraz adds the Roland Garros crown to the Wimbledon title he won against Novak Djokovic last year and the 2022 US Open.

He will head to the Australian Open next year with the chance to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.

Fourth seed Zverev, who settled a court case in Germany two days ago over domestic abuse allegations, is still waiting for a maiden major title.

He had also lost his only previous Slam final in five sets, when he blew a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.

Zverev had high hopes of finally getting over the line — he has also lost six Slam semi-finals — but Alcaraz was too strong in the key moments as he levelled their head-to-head record at 5-5.

“It’s been amazing. The atmosphere, the support has been amazing,” said the 27-year-old.

Alcaraz said before the final he wanted to join the list of men’s players from his country, including his idol Rafael Nadal, to win the Roland Garros title, and he celebrated becoming the eighth Spanish champion by falling to the clay with his head in his hands in disbelief.

“Congratulations Carlos for this immense victory! Wonderful! Very happy for your successes! Vamos,” tweeted Nadal.

Zverev’s nervy start

Zverev endured a miserable start, double-faulting on the first two points of the match en route to being broken in the opening game.

But Alcaraz was not immune to the nerves of a maiden French Open final, framing a regulation forehand into the stands and then also double-faulting as he gifted the break straight back.

The Spaniard did not take too long to find his groove, though, breaking to love in the fifth game on his way to pocketing the opener.

READ: Zverev beats Ruud to set up French Open final with Carlos Alcaraz

The youngster had to save three break points to hold in a 10-minute first game of the second set, but slipped 3-2 behind when he failed to stave off two more break points as another forehand sailed into the crowd.

Suddenly Zverev had a spring in his step and Alcaraz was reduced to scrambling at the back of the court, falling a double-break down with a double-fault.

Zverev wrapped up an ultimately one-sided second set with a hold to love.

The German made it three successive love holds with two more early in the third set, before Alcaraz celebrated coming out of a tricky service game unscathed with a fist pump as he edged 3-2 ahead, despite having been largely on the back foot.

Serving into an increasingly strong breeze, Zverev was caught out by an Alcaraz return that crept over the net and the Spaniard went on to grab a break to love.

But he could not serve out the set as a rasping Zverev passing shot secured a break back.

That failure to take control of the match seemed to temporarily break Alcaraz’s spirit, as he ended up losing five games on the spin to concede the set.

Crucial line call saves Alcaraz

Alcaraz would not go down without a fight, though, breaking for a 2-0 advantage in the fourth with a magnificent curling winner on the run.

Just seconds before, Zverev had been angrily disputing a line call which was clearly correct, drawing jeers from the crowd.

The German was rattled and his serve started to desert him, with Alcaraz racing through the fourth set to force a decider despite having to take a medical time-out to have treatment for apparent cramp at 4-1.

Zverev had won 10 of his previous 11 five-setters at Roland Garros but handed Alcaraz a break on a platter in the third game of the fifth.

Alcaraz stuttered himself, falling 0-40 down in the next game.

He appeared to have double-faulted on the second break point, but the chair umpire overruled the line judge’s call of out, despite Zverev’s angry protests, before Hawkeye replays showed it was out.

Alcaraz went on to hold and it proved to be a pivotal moment in the match.

Zverev fell a double-break down in game seven as Alcaraz delighted the fans with an outrageous flicked winner before crushing a forehand onto the line.

He wrapped up a historic victory with a booming forehand that Zverev could not get back.

Iga Swiatek cruises to third straight French Open title

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Poland’s Iga Swiatek celebrates with the trophy after winning against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini at the end of women’s singles final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day fourteen of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 8, 2024. (Photo by Emmanuel Dunand / AFP)

Poland’s Iga Swiatek extended her French Open reign on Saturday as she thrashed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1 in the final to win a third successive Roland Garros title.

World number one Swiatek dominated Italian 12th seed Paolini, a first-time Grand Slam finalist, needing just 68 minutes to capture a fourth crown in five years in Paris.

Swiatek has now won all five Grand Slam finals she has contested. Her other victory came at the 2022 US Open.

READ: Iga Swiatek beats Coco Gauff to reach French Open final

She is the fourth woman in the Open era to lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen four times — after Justine Henin, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf.

“It’s amazing to be here. I love this place. I wait every year to come back,” said Swiatek, who clicked into gear after saving a match point against Naomi Osaka in the second round.

“I was almost out of the tournament,” she said. “I also needed to believe this one is going to be possible, it’s been a really emotional tournament.”

Swiatek becomes only the third woman to win the tournament three years running. Henin, in 2005-07, was the last to do so. Monica Seles also achieved the feat as a teenager at the start of the 1990s.

At 23, her four Roland Garros titles are the same number Rafael Nadal, the record 14-time men’s champion, had at the same age.

READ: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff sprint into French Open quarterfinal

For the 28-year-old Paolini it was a sorry conclusion, at least in singles, to an otherwise brilliant fortnight in the French capital.

The world number 15 had won a total of four matches in 16 Grand Slam appearances before advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.

While she fell short of emulating compatriot Francesca Schiavone, who won the 2010 French Open, Paolini could yet finish on a winning note with her and doubles partner Sara Errani through to Sunday’s final.

“I have to say congratulations to you, Iga,” said Paolini. “I think to play you here is the toughest challenge in this sport.”

“It was tough, but it was lots of fun,” she added.

Paolini’s transformation this season into a player capable of challenging for the biggest prizes stemmed in part from quashing the mindset she needed “a miracle” to beat the best in the sport.

Yet the odds were heavily stacked against her going into the final, with Swiatek unbeaten at Roland Garros since a 2021 quarter-final loss to Maria Sakkari.

Swiatek takes charge

Riding a 20-match winning streak in Paris, and a winner of 18 straight matches this year after titles in Madrid and Rome, Swiatek quickly set about her business.

She powered an ace to hold in the opening game and had Paolini backpedaling down break point, but the Italian ground out a gutsy hold and then broke Swiatek when the Pole flayed a forehand long.

That triggered a searing riposte from Swiatek, who broke to love to get back on serve and then surged 4-2 in front after Paolini coughed up a costly double-fault.

“I got broken at the beginning, so it wasn’t maybe perfect, but I think the level was pretty high,” said Swiatek.

She had her opponent constantly scurrying around the court and the errors began to stack up for Paolini, who conceded the first set with a weak groundstroke into the net.

With Swiatek firmly in the ascendancy, Paolini looked lost for answers as the top seed oozed confidence and repeatedly took control of the rallies.

Had it not been for an astonishing recovery against Osaka in the second round, Swiatek would have suffered her earliest exit at the French Open.

Instead that fright served to ignite her title aspirations, reigning Wimbledon and US Open champions — Marketa Vondrousova and Coco Gauff — in particular powerless to stop the Swiatek offensive.

Swiatek had difficulty putting away Karolina Muchova last year when heavily fancied, but there was no such trouble 12 months on as the Pole dismantled Paolini to underline her burgeoning status as the ‘Queen of Clay’.

The three games won by Paolini were the fewest in the final here since Henin obliterated Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 in 2007, which also coincided with the Belgian’s fourth Roland Garros title in five years.

Swiatek seals place among greats with ‘surreal’ 4th French Open

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Poland’s Iga Swiatek celebrates her victory over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini after their women’s singles final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day fourteen of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 8, 2024. (Photo by Emmanuel Dunand / AFP)

Iga Swiatek secured her place among tennis greats on Saturday as she joined an exclusive club of four-time women’s French Open champions with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jasmine Paolini.

The 23-year-old from Poland became only the fourth woman to win four Roland Garros singles titles in the Open era, joining Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Justine Henin.

She is also the first player to claim three successive women’s titles in Paris since Henin in 2007. Monica Seles was the first to do so, triumphing from 1990-92.

READ: Iga Swiatek cruises to third straight French Open title

“I’m really proud of myself, because the expectations obviously have been pretty high from the outside. Pressure, as well,” said Swiatek.

“I’m a perfectionist, so there is always pressure behind me. But I think I’m fine with handling my own pressure.

“It’s when the pressure from the outside hits me, then it’s a little bit worse. But I managed it really well at this tournament.”

Swiatek’s latest coronation came as no surprise, but her run to the title was not without its hiccups — and tears.

She saved a match point against Naomi Osaka in the second round, later weeping in the gym as her emotions took over.

READ: Iga Swiatek beats Coco Gauff to reach French Open final

“I honestly thought that I’m going to be out of the tournament,” Swiatek recalled after her third-round win.

“Even though I felt something on court, it kind of hit me after. I was happy that I won, but I still felt like I was really on the edge. So, yeah, I just cried.”

From that point, nobody could get close to Swiatek, who conceded a mere 11 games from the fourth round onwards — the joint-fewest en route to winning a women’s major in the Open era.

Rare treble

The world number one also completed a Madrid-Rome-Roland Garros treble. The only other woman in history to do it in the same season is Serena Williams.

“This tournament has been pretty surreal with its beginning and with second round, and then I was able to get my game better and better every match,” said Swiatek.

Ominously for her rivals, the escape act against Osaka has filled the Pole with even greater resolve.

“For sure it gives me the feeling that I should always believe in myself, that I can find my tennis even if I’m in big trouble, you know and with this tennis, fight back,” said Swiatek. “It gives me confidence.”

At 23, she has won the same number of French Open titles as Rafael Nadal, the record 14-time men’s champion, had at the same age.

With the exception of her 2022 US Open victory, Swiatek’s success in Paris far exceeds her results at the other Grand Slams.

But as a former Wimbledon junior champion and a winner of six WTA 1000 hard-court events, it is surely only a matter of time until Swiatek hits upon the right formula to translate her clay form into more major titles on other surfaces.

It was after Nadal’s fourth Roland Garros that the Spaniard went on to lift his maiden Wimbledon trophy.

Swiatek, who said before the tournament it was “too early” to consider herself the ‘Queen of Clay’, again was reluctant to draw comparisons with her idol Nadal.

Swiatek has yet to make it past the quarter-finals of the main draw at Wimbledon, and is not setting any specific goals.

“I don’t expect a lot. The balls are different. Overall tennis is different on grass. I’ll just see and I’ll work hard to play better there,” she said.

Zverev beats Ruud to set up French Open final with Carlos Alcaraz

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Germany’s Alexander Zverev plays a shot against Norway’s Casper Ruud during their semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday, June 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Alexander Zverev exacted revenge on Casper Ruud at the French Open on Friday to reach his second Grand Slam final and first since 2020, with Carlos Alcaraz standing between him and the title.

Fourth seed Zverev, who had lost in the semi-finals at Roland Garros in each of the past three years, fought back to beat Ruud 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 in a repeat of their last-four clash 12 months ago.

Zverev won just seven games when the pair met in the 2023 semis and a similar story was on the cards after Ruud cruised through the opening set.

READ; Alexander Zverev reaches French Open semifinal as trial proceeds

But the German raised his game, reaching his first French Open final and keeping his hopes of a maiden Grand Slam title alive.

Zverev holds a career 5-4 winning record against Alcaraz, including a victory in their only previous Roland Garros meeting in the 2022 quarter-finals.

Alcaraz earlier battled past incoming world number one Jannik Sinner in five sets.

“If you’re in the final of Roland Garros, you deserve to be there. That goes for him, as well,” said Zverev.

“He played a fantastic match today. Played a fantastic tournament in general, I think. I’m expecting a very difficult match.”

READ: Carlos Alcaraz embraces ‘suffering’ to reach French Open final

There will be two first-time finalists for the first year since Rafael Nadal defeated Mariano Puerta for the first of his 14 titles in 2005.

The 27-year-old Zverev’s only previous major final appearance saw him blow a two-set lead to lose to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.

“I was not ready then to win my first Grand Slam final,” said Zverev, the first German man to make the final since Michael Stich in 1996.

“I’m definitely not a kid any more, I’m a little older. If not now, then when?”

A German court dropped a case against Zverev over allegations he assaulted an ex-girlfriend earlier on Friday, after a settlement was agreed.

Ruud was targeting a fourth Grand Slam final, but the two-time Roland Garros runner-up was well below his best and struggling with illness.

“I wasn’t able to play with the kind of tennis I like to play with intensity because I was kind of limited with my stomach,” said Ruud. “I don’t want to make an excuse or excuses, but it’s frustrating and disappointing.”

 Zverev fights back

Alexander Zverev French Open

Germany’s Alexander Zverev clenches his fist after winning the third set during his semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Norway’s Casper Ruud at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday, June 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

The Norwegian seventh seed had not played since Monday after enjoying a walkover in the quarter-finals due to Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the tournament with a knee injury.

Zverev had spent more than eight hours on court during two five-setters in the third and fourth rounds, before beating Alex de Minaur in the last eight.

“To go deep and to win a Grand Slam, you have to go through difficulties and you have to go through a lot of ups and downs,” added Zverev.

“You’re not going to win a Grand Slam by winning every match in straight three sets. Some players do, like Roger (Federer) did, Rafa (Nadal) did a few times, but normally to win a Grand Slam you have to go through battles.”

Ruud looked the fresher of the two as he raced into a one-set lead.

But Zverev was much improved in the second set, breaking twice while hitting 15 winners against just four unforced errors to level the match.

A break in the fifth game of the third set put him in control against a struggling Ruud.

He served it out for a 2-1 edge in sets, despite briefly faltering with successive double-faults and having to save a break point.

Ruud took a trip to the medical room after the third set.

But he was broken again in the first game of the fourth before Zverev moved to the brink of the final by giving himself breathing space with another break for a 5-2 lead.

He showed no signs of nerves, confidently serving it out at the first opportunity with an ace.