Carlos Alcaraz admitted after the 2024 Roland Garros final that he had plenty of doubts while Alexander Zverev was leading in the match.
The Spaniard entered this year’s Roland Garros as one of the favorites to win simply because of his skill set, which works really well on clay. Zverev also endured a lot of long matches, which certainly impacted his fitness, especially towards the end of the final match.
Even with all of that, it was a final and tricky matchup for the 21-year-old, which is why, after three sets, Zverev was leading 2-1. Alcaraz actually had a 5-2 lead in that third set but then lost five games in a row to lose the set.
“When I finished the third set, I had a lot of doubts. I’m not gonna lie. I thought I wasn’t hurting him enough. It was difficult for me. I don’t know, but with the nerves, I didn’t play my best. But we were in a Grand Slam final. It was the time to fight and find solutions.”
He did just that, storming out to a quick lead in the fourth set. Zverev tried his best to hang on but couldn’t really create too much pressure as the Spanish player cruised to a 6-1 finish.
The final set looked very complicated, even if the score was 6-2. The Spaniard had some moments of magic and needed every one of them to fend off one final push from the German.
Overall, Alcaraz proved himself once more on the biggest stage, improving to a 3-0 record in Grand Slam finals. This one was complicated, like the Wimbledon final, but he won it and that was the most important for him.