Nobody’s French Open fortnight–and really entire spring–had been more notable than Alexander Zverev’s, so it’s only fitting that he finds himself in the final on Sunday afternoon and one win away from a first Grand Slam title.
The 27-year-old German set himself up for success at Roland Garros with a title at the Rome Masters and he has maintained the momentum through six matches. Among those six are a first-round win over 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, a third-round defeat of Tallon Griekspoor from two breaks down in the fifth set, and a five-set victory at the expense of Holger Rune in the round of 16. Zverev has also advanced by taking out David Goffin, Alex de Minaur, and Casper Ruud.
Standing in Zverev’s way of his greatest triumph is familiar foe Carlos Alcaraz. The head-to-head series stands at 5-4 in favor of Zverev, including 2-1 at Grand Slams and 2-1 at Roland Garros (a four-set win the 2022 quarterfinals). They have split two meetings this season, with Zverev winning in four at the Australian Open before Alcaraz rolled in straights at the Indian Wells Masters.
Alcaraz may be among the favorites at any tournament he enters, but a deep run in Paris was never a sure thing given his preparation–or lack thereof. The third-ranked Spaniard was reduced to just one clay-court tournament prior to the French Open (lost in the Madrid quarterfinals to Andrey Rublev) because of a right-arm injury. However, he quickly silenced those questions and rolled into the semis with victories over J.J. Wolf, Jesper de Jong, Sebastian Korda, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. That set the stage for a titanic tussle with chief rival Jannik Sinner, whom Alcaraz beat in five sets on Friday.
At 21 years old, Alcaraz is now the youngest man to play in a Grand Slam final on all three different surfaces. He is 2-0 in his two previous efforts, defeating Ruud in four sets at the 2022 U.S. Open and Novak Djokovic in five at Wimbledon last summer.
Zverev, on the other hand, is 0-1 lifetime in slam finals. He served for the title at 5-4 in the fifth set of a memorable empty-stands 2020 U.S. Open championship match against Dominic Thiem but failed to close it out. Zverev, who led two sets to love, eventually lost in a tiebreaker.
From a pure tennis standpoint, Zverev is playing better than Alcaraz and this matchup is obviously a good one for the underdog. That being said, a significant edge in the “intangibles” category goes to Alcaraz. He has been on this stage multiple times and has thrived in those situations. Alcaraz is too good to get blown blown, and as long as he keeps Zverev within striking distance he should have the mental edge as the finish line approaches.
Pick: Alcaraz in 5
who ya got?
Zverev in 4
Pakistan to beat India in a mauling
Superior form and experience can negate intangibles. It’s Zverev’s job to use his superior form and experience to shut that down like Djokovic did last year.
Whether he can do that when he hasn’t won a major remains to be seen.
Zverev in 4/5.
De Minaur in 3 and Ruud in 4 is hard to ignore. Doubt Alcaraz wouldve achieved a similar result. Alcaraz hasn’t won a clay court event this season and he’s not 100% physically so there are reasons why he won’t win it this year even though it’s unusual for him to lose two years in a row in the finals.
Tsitsipas, FAA and even Sinner (on clay) are all matchups he’s relatively comfortable with. Not so with Zverev.
I’m not sure Zverev is the same player he was before he injured his ankle and he’s now the ripe old age of 27.
I’ll say Zverev in 4 mainly because Alcaraz hasn’t been at his best level this tournament even though he’s in the final.
Really hoping for Zverev. Simply because he’s due a slam after all the disappointment. Alcaraz has many Slams in front of him.
yep
Zverev better take his chances otherwise Harry Houdini will find a away.
You cant got 3 from 12 BPs against Alcaraz and expect to win. You need at least 50% BP conversions
I’m not even watching this because I cant handle watching Zverev choke on every BP and then watch Alcaraz jag 4 winners in a row with his eyes closed.
Lol, I would really like to see Zverev win but he is literally giving away the match. First off, he hasn’t capitalize on the break chances but to me what’s worse is he lame response to Carlos” lack of first serves particularly in the fifth set. I mean seriously?!! He is getting all of second serves and he does NOTHING with them………mind u neither of them r playing particularly well, sigh!! This match is just riddled with errors, both players wobbling and it’s hardly entertaining!!! And Rafa, this is all ure fault 🤣🤣🤣🤣
A very good summary! 🙂
But I thought the match was entertaining.
That was for Anon.
All that tennis that Zverev played was likely his undoing.
What an entertaining, roller coaster of a match. Congratulations to Alcaraz who, at times, produced incredible, jaw dropping, impossible shots. But well done to Zverev too, he looked down and out in the first but lifted himself up and, for the most of the match, made it very competitive. Ran out of steam towards the end, whereas Alcaraz seemed to get extra steam!
One rule that needs abolishing though, is the giving of a first serve after a second has been wrongly called out. Most unfair. And, while I’m at it, abolish the “let” rule. If the serve goes in the box, play it, stop all the faffing around please.
Well done M!…undisputed Queen of Roland Garros!😀👍💪..Backed u to win again for Wimby!…C’mon!..let’s go!!
Thank you darling. x
Once again Zverev proves that he can keep up on clay with anyone, but only for a limited time. It is quite logical given that he’s not adequately built for clay court and he’s not mentally tough enough. There was simply no way that he could outlast a healthy Alcaraz. I think that it’s clear now that he would have lost against Rafa in 2022 anyway.
With Nadal and Djokovic out (or almost), Zverev may indeed be due a slam, but he should really focus on USO and AO.
In any case, I am certainly not rooting for him winning any slam and I don’t understand why anyone would. He is a boring big hitter and not a nice guy either.
Good advice for Zverev^
Cristian P,
I am not sure why Zverev’s supporters should explain you, why they like Zverev!
On the other hand your comment is really idiotic. Zverev did in Madrid and Rome during his career. He reached RG final. Ok, he is not king of clay. But how can you conclude, that his game is not suited for clay?
Correction: did win in Madrid and Rome!
yup, Zverev is way better on clay than grass
And the winner of both Roland Garros brackets, ATP and WTA, is Margot!
Congrats, Margot. She pulled clear of the rest of us to the top place
Don’t quit now, everybody; Grass Season is here 😀
I’m not sure I can finish the brackets this week on time. I need a week to plan my next move.
Congrats to Carlos Alcaraz; Our Roland Garros Winner!
Same as in the semis, even two sets to one down you felt there was going to be a fifth. And once there , the winner of the fourth has a big advantage mentally. I really thought the match was lost though, at the start of the third when Zverev was mentally not there ,shouting at his box just for losing the very first point on his serve. Bizarre when he was winning at that point. Played a couple of loose points and he dropped serve,went on to lose 4 games in a row.
Well done Margot.
Thank you Al! Usually I am chasing you!
Thanks. I did have my best ever tournament in Strasbourg.Won the whole TDC thing.
ps Id have to say Zverev choked right there.
Big Al calls it, on the nose!
as did myself!
not as bad as 2020 USO
At start of the fourth I meant.
He had scar tissue from that. The older they get , the more pressure to win that first one.
Can Zverev still win a slam though?
With players like Alcaraz and Sinner out there it seems unlikely now.
His game is not suited to beat the best on this surface, especially in best of 5 format – my comment also explains why.
Madrid is a diferent discussion, the conditions are quite different. In Rome the field was quite depleted. Anyway the stars are much more likely to align for him to win 5 best of 3 sets matches on clay than 7 best of five matches.
Nobody should explain to me why they like Zverev because I would still not understand it of course. Same would go for anything that I really don’t like. However I have no problem accepting that other people root for him.
thanks for the reply, I still consider that your arguments are irrelevant. He might have a problem with the 5 set format, with diabetes and so on, but I think he has good results on clay. He did win in Rome twice , I guess. And he did not lose to the best at the US Open 20.
But this is your opinion.
I don’t see him winning Wimbledon.
Yeah agree he’s better suited to best of three.