The weekend in which the trophies were handed out at Roland Garros confirmed two highly publicized situations on the men's table.
Carlos Alcaraz. PHOTO: Facebook
First of all, it was clearly seen that Rafael Nadal (38 years old, 264 ATP) was unlucky in the draw when he was made to play, already in the first round, with the German Alexander Zverev (27 years , 4 ATP). Since then, it has been said that if someone else had stepped in the way of the Iberian, maybe he would not have won the trophy, but he would not have been eliminated after the first match either. And the fact that Zverev advanced to the final act, where he took Carlos Alcaraz in five sets, confirmed this idea.
The men's final also reinforced another scenario. Namely the fact that we are witnessing the rise of a player capable of approaching what Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have meant to tennis. Because, at only 21 years old, Alacaraz won his third major trophy, after the US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023. This result had several historical connotations.
*At 21 years and 35 days, Alcaraz became the second-youngest athlete in the Open era (starting after 1968) with three Grand Slams. Only Sweden's Björn Borg was younger (20 years and 27 days) when he won his first three major trophies.
*What distinguishes Alcaraz from Borg is another aspect. The Swede's first Grand Slams came at the French Open (1974, 1975) and Wimbledon (1976). Carlos, on the other hand, is the youngest tennis player in the Open era to score a hat trick in three different competitions.
Given that the rest of the season will see the Wimbledon (July 1-14) and US Open (August 26-September 8) tournaments, where the Spanish star has already won trophies, there is a good chance that Alcaraz will end this season with five Grand Slams in his record! Especially since, almost certainly, Djokovic and Nadal will be missing at Wimbledon, eager to be fit for the Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11).
In these conditions, at the conference after the victory at the French Open 2024, Alcaraz was naturally asked if he dares to think about the possibility of one day passing the Djokovics in the hierarchy of Grand Slam trophies. It should be noted that, at this moment, the Serbian has 24 major trophies, followed by Nadal (22 Grand Slams) and Federer (20).
“I hope I spoke to Juan Carlos Ferrero (no – his coach) before the final and he made me understand how hard it is to win a Grand Slam. Nole is 24, it's incredible. At the moment I can't think about it, I have to keep working and we will see in the future how much I can earn. For now, I want to be happy that I won my third Grand Slam title“, said Alcaraz, according to Eurosport.
The Iberian also revealed the lesson he received this year at Roland Garros: “I learned that mental strength wins matches. I don't need to play brilliantly, I don't need to play the best tennis I'm capable of, I can win a lot with my head. If you're mentally weak, even if you're playing the best tennis of your life, you probably won't win a Grand Slam tournament. It's the test I passed and I'm very proud that I was able to beat it thanks to mental strengthAlcaraz added.
French Open 2024, last matches
Women's semi-finals
Swiatek (1 WTA) – Gauff (3 WTA)
6-2, 6-4
Paolini (15 WTA) – Andreeva (38 WTA)
6-3, 6-1
Men's semi-finals
Alcaraz (3 ATP) – Sinner (2 ATP)
2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Zverev (4 ATP) – Ruud (7 ATP)
2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2
Women's final
Swiatek – Paolini
6-2, 6-1
Men's final
Alcaraz – Zverev
6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
Awards given at Roland Garros
*Round I: 73,000 euros
*Round II: 110,000 euros
*Round III: 158,000 euros
*Optimum: 250,000 euros
*Quarters: 415,000 euros
*Semifinals: 650,000 euros
*Access to the final: 1,200,000 euros
*Winning the trophy: 2,400,000 euros
