Much of this year’s clay-court season had been a miserable experience for Carlos Alcaraz. He was sidelined from three of his four planned tournaments with a forearm injury and hampered in the one event he did play. His fitness struggles raised further questions about whether his body can withstand the pressure his all-action playing style imposes on it and he arrived at Roland Garros without much match practice or rhythm.
It takes a special talent to enter a major tournament with such difficult preparation yet still manage to compete with sufficient quality and conviction to keep on winning under pressure. This time, after five turbulent, tension-filled sets, the Spaniard emerged after four hours, 19 minutes with a 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 win over the fourth seed Alexander Zverev and his first French Open title.
