Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz will duel in the Paris sun on Sunday afternoon for the French Open men's singles trophy. Awarded after seven best-of-five set matches, the Coupe des Mousquetaires is one of the most prestigious prizes in tennis.
And it is as coveted as the cups handed out at the three other Grand Slam tournaments at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Alcaraz at 20 has bathed in the glories of the sport. He lifted the US Open title in New York in September 2022 and was anointed world number one – the youngest man at 19 years, four months, and six days old – to occupy the berth since the rankings were computerized in August 1973.
Last July, he added the Wimbledon crown to his trophy cabinet following an epic five-set victory over the defending champion Novak Djokovic on Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in south-west London.
Seeded third at the 2024 French Open, Alcaraz will be the slight favourite to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the first time especially after disposing of the second seed and new world number one Jannik Sinner in the semi-final.
"I have a special feeling about this tournament," said Alcaraz an hour after reaching his first final in Paris.
"I remember when I finished school I ran to my home just to put the TV on and watch the matches here in the French Open.
Dream
"I watched a lot of matches. Of course Rafa Nadal dominating this tournament.
"I wanted to put my name on that list of the Spanish players who won this tournament. Not only Rafa but [Juan Carlos] Ferrero, [Carlos] Moya, [Albert] Costa, a lot of Spanish players. I really want to put my name on that list as well."
Zverev, though, will harbour genuine belief he can prevent Alcaraz from fulfilling his dream.
He won the Italian Open in Rome in the run-up to this year's French Open and has claimed five of his nine meetings with Alcaraz.
"We had very tough battles in the past," said the fourth seed who will be seeking a first trophy at a Grand Slam tournament.
"It is going to be a difficult match. It is a Grand Slam final. If you're in a Grand Slam final, you deserve to be there. That goes for both of us. Both of us are expecting a tough battle."
Alcaraz, who lost to Zverev in the quarter-finals at the 2022 French Open, concurred.
"He's playing great tennis on clay: big serve, big shots, really solid.
Interesting
"It's going to be a really interesting final," he added. "I will try to take the good things that I did in the previous matches and try to improve the bad things that I did against him."
Mentally, Alcaraz should posess the edge. He has won both his finals at a Grand Slam tournament. Zverev, a former junior world number one, fluffed his one final at the US Open in 2020.
He squandered a two-set lead and then a 5-3 advantage in the decider to lose to Dominic Thiem in the final set tiebreak.
Court Philippe Chatrier is also the place where in June 2022 he suffered the ankle injury that kept him off the circuit for seven months.
"You either come back stronger and you come back hungrier," said Zverev of the setbacks.
"You come back wanting to win more, which I feel like I did in 2021 when I had my best year on tour so far.
"I didn't win a Grand Slam tournament but felt like I had opportunities. I won the gold medal at the Olympics and won the most titles on tour by any player that year.
Return
"Or you kind of go into yourself," he added. "I'm happy that I was the sort of person that took the first path. Here I am in the final. I want to give myself the best chance."
As well as offering Zverev the opportunity for redemption, the showdown might be the last chance for his crop of mid to late twentysomethings to show some return on their promise before Alcaraz and 22-year-old Sinner seize primacy.
The pair have claimed three majors between them while Zverev's generation of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev has mustered only one between them – Medvedev's triumph over Djokovic at the US Open in 2021.
"Zverev is not going to be frightened of the match up," said former world number one Andy Roddick on his podcast Served.
"We don't know if he can get across the finish line. I still think there's some scar tissue from trying to serve out the US Open and not doing it.
"But Zverev has picked up right where he left off in Rome and has played a hell of a tournament. He has played a bunch of different styles."
On tactics, Roddick told listeners: "Zverev likes to dig in six or seven feet behind the baseline but Alcaraz will expose that with drop shots early. He will make him come in and make him think about where he has to position himself."
Just over two years after he was taken off Court Philippe Chatrier in tears in a wheelchair, standing tall in the same palce with the French Open trophy and beaming with pride would offer up compellingly contrasting images for the ages.
Alcaraz will have few qualms about ruining that fairy tale.
