Carlos Alcaraz was on the prowl. Watching the 21-year-old Spanish star at Roland Garros evoked many comparisons. At the end of tennis’s marathon, so to say, spread over five sets, Alcaraz had outlasted the in-form Alexander Zverev to win the French Open crown. ‘Carlitos’, as fans love to call him, was two sets to one down and facing defeat. These are the moments which test everything in a player – technique and temperament. Alcaraz showed why he is the next big thing as he triumphed with a flourish – the 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 result proof of his superstar status after a gruelling four-hour grind.
Three Grand Slam titles won on three different surfaces in three different years – the US Open in 2022, Wimbledon in 2023 and the French Open in the summer of 2024. Alcaraz is already being talked of as “more talented” at this age. No, not just by fans, but even by John McEnroe and Boris Becker, on television as well as during their casual conversation.
To play ten sets of tennis in the semi-finals and the final was proof that Alcaraz is fit, even though the right arm resembled a patient walking out of the ortho ward after meeting the doctor. A wrist band, drenched in sweat, then a long elbow-protection sleeve going right up the arm for protection.
Alcaraz is not like his predecessors from Spain, who would merely pound the ball from the baseline. He is far more creative, there is more nuance in his game, with attacking the net part of his plan.
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Many Spaniards have won at Roland Garros before, from Sergei Bruguera, Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal to his own mentor, Juan Carlos Ferrero. “To be able to put my name on that amazing list is unbelievable,” said Alcaraz. “I dreamed about being in this position since I started playing tennis, since I was five or six years old.”
As Alcaraz sealed victory and collapsed on to the clay, a la Nadal, who he idolises, there were emotions all around, inside the arena and for all the millions watching on TV. One of the viewers included Novak Djokovic, who had posted on Instagram that he was watching with his family after that knee operation.
How does Alcaraz celebrate this? At Wimbledon last year, when he throttled Djokovic in the final, the Spaniard went and got a strawberry tattooed. After all, strawberries and cream is a must at Wimbledon. This time, Alcaraz plans an Eiffel Tower tattoo on his left ankle, when he finds time.
In the final set, Alcaraz unleashed his full repertoire. Deep approach shots, hard drives on either flank, and sorties to the net, where the drop shots and volleys came as a big surprise. “I know that when I am playing a fifth set, you have to give everything and you have to give your heart,” he said afterwards. “I have to show to the opponent that I am fresh, like we are playing the first game of the match.”
While firing 52 winners despite some errors also creeping in, Alcaraz took his chances like an inveterate gambler at the Las Vegas betting till. One needs to have that kind of a spirit, for it separates a winner from a champion. Sadly, Zverev was also arguing with the chair umpire in between, which did his cause no good. You can blame the chair umpire, you can blame Hawk-Eye and anything else you choose to. But ultimately, Zverev had no answers once Alcaraz found his A game. And to think we were told that he was not 100 per cent fit this year!
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