Alcaraz joins all-time greats after stunning four-hour French Open ...

Carlos Alcaraz has become the youngest man to win grand slams on all three surfaces after staging a superb fightback to deny Alexander Zverev a maiden grand slam title in a gripping finale to Roland Garros on Sunday.

The 21-year-old rallied from a perilous position to defeat Zverev 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2 in a final lasting 4hr 15min on Court Philippe Chatrier, adding the French Open to his US Open triumph in 2022 and his Wimbledon victory last year.

The Spanish sensation entered this Roland Garros under an injury cloud after withdrawing from the Italian Open with a forearm injury and wore a sleeve on his right arm throughout the fortnight in Paris.

In the final, he also required treatment on a heavily-bandaged left thigh. Yet he responded like a champion to win the coveted title. As a result of winning his third grand slam title, Alcaraz is already assured of entry into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Presented The Muskateers Cup by Bjorn Borg, the No.3 seed said the team had doubts he would be able to play at Roland Garros given his forearm issue.

“To my team, it has been incredible work (over) the last month,“ he said.

“We were struggling a lot with the injury, coming back to Madrid, and it didn’t feel well. The next weeks we had a lot of doubts. I am really grateful to have the team that I have, the people I have around.

“I know everyone on m team is giving their heart to make me improve as a player and as a person.”

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his epic win.Source: AFP

It was not the highest standard final, though both players had many fine moments. Some of the shotmaking from Alcaraz as he surged closer to history was scintillating.

But the chilly conditions and gusting wind made it more difficult for the combatants to whip winners at will, with defence and court craft coming to the fore in a compelling final.

There were twists and turns and runs of momentum. Zverev scarcely missed for a period, only to get the yips at the net. Alcaraz shanked forehands and coughed up a big lead in the third set, only to recover his composure and fire back into the contest.

If anything, the fact that a player with his arsenal of weapons was forced to fight to find a way to grind out the triumph adds to his reputation as a fighter as much as he is a force of nature.

The Spaniard is breathtaking in full flight. But just like his idol Nadal, he also possesses the rarest of grit, as evidenced in his fightback and also through his willpower when facing break points on multiple occasions in the deciding set.

He extends his record in matches going the distance to 11 wins from 12 matches, a run which includes his stirring victory over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year that denied the Serbian superstar a Grand Slam.

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz (L) shakes hands with Germany's Alexander Zverev after the match.Source: AFP

He also rallied from a 2-1 deficit to outlast reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, who will be crowned world No. 1 on Monday, in a semi-final on Friday.

The outlier is a loss to Matteo Berrettini in Melbourne two years ago when edged in a deciding super tiebreaker. His fortitude and resilience is remarkable.

Zverev will be shattered to lose his second grand slam final from a position of advantage after his loss to Dominic Thiem in New York in 2020.

Having played so superbly throughout the second and third sets, where he served incredibly well and scarcely missed a shot, to start the fourth set so meekly is something he will rue. Nerves may have been a factor. They certainly were in the opening game.

But more likely the workload of the past fortnight, and perhaps the stress related to the domestic abuse case he settled in Germany on Friday, may have worn him down. The right-hander had the longest road ever recorded (since 1991) leading into a final in Paris, playing for a total of 19hr 27min, and looked to lose some of the pop in his legs and on his serve as the match extended towards four hours.

But he continued to fight through the fifth set and bar for the brilliance of his rival, a maiden grand slam title would be his.

“(To have a) third grand slam at 21-years-old, it is incredible,” he said.

“It is an amazing career already. You are already a Hall of Famer and you have already achieved so much. You are an incredible player.”

To suggest Zverev started the final nervously would be an understatement.

The No. 4 seed double-faulted on the first two points, switched racquets immediately in response, but still proceeded to drop the service game after Alcaraz rifled a forehand winner up the line.

Alcaraz gifted the break straight back to him in the following game but from then on was by far the superior player throughout a first set that he claimed 6-3.

When he lost to the German in four sets in an Australian Open quarterfinal in January, he managed to break his rival’s serve only twice. But in the opening set of the final in Paris, Alcaraz struck three times in an encouraging start for the Spaniard.

Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick noted towards the tail end of the set that the variety Alcaraz was deploying on the backhand wing was troubling his taller rival, who is at his best when allowed to settle into a metronomic rhythm from the baseline.

Mindful of this, the Spaniard rarely offered the same shot to his rival in succession in the infancy of the match, instead mixing his angles, altering his speed and trajectory and switching between topspin backhand, flatter drives and regular slices.

When slicing the ball, he worked inside it to curl it away from Zverev on the forehand side, but also used a more traditional spin when knifing the slice to the backhand of the German.

As the wind kicked up early in the second set and the dust started to swirl around Court Philippe Chatrier, Zverev started to make inroads in the final.

Although three opportunities to break the reigning Wimbledon champion went begging in the opening service game, Zverev pounced when Alcaraz erred repeatedly at 2-all in a sign of what was to unfold over the next 90 minutes of the final.

The longer a rally extended, the more it favoured the Spaniard. But in points lasting fewer than four shots, it was advantage Zverev as the German started to dictate terms in points more regularly.

His first serve percentage rose and he started to find his range with his double-fisted backhand, with the pace of the shot proving a problem for the world No.3.

The backhand barrage from Zverev continued early in the third set as he continued to press the pace from the baseline, whipping winners without making any errors.

But on the opening point of his service game at 2-3, Zverev slipped while attempting to make ground for a short return. It seemed to have a dual-effect. Alcaraz rallied immediately by upping the pace on his groundstrokes while Zverev went into his shell and lost his first service game in well over an hour when broken to love.

He held three points to retrieve the break immediately but each time his younger opponent proved equal to the occasion.

Alcaraz caught an initial break when a defensive slice skidded off the baseline and caught Zverev’s frame on the forehand, before a superb serve drew an easy winner. On the third, a well executed drop shot drew Zverev forward, but the Spaniard still had to be good enough to whip a backhand passing shot past his rival at the net.

But the setback was a momentary one for Zverev, who retrieved the break as Alcaraz was serving for the set, with a couple of brilliant backhand passing shots critical, with the Spaniard falling to the ground as his advantage was ripped away from him.

He then snared another break at 5-all, with his depth of shot and penetration unsettling the Spaniard, who remarkably looked bereft of options for a player who usually possesses so many tricks.

After dropping the third set 7-5, the dual-major winner also complained to the umpire about a lack of clay on the court after surrendering a 5-2 advantage in the third set to fall behind, declaring “this is unbelievable”.

It is indisputable there was less clay on the court than when play started given the gusting wind. But both players had to play in the conditions and the more powerful Zverev looked more settled with his shots less affected by the fluky wind.

Champions, of course, find a way. Rather than wilt after losing five games in succession, the Prince of Murcia regained his composure and rose to the occasion to force a deciding set.

The quality of his play was superb, though aided in part by a dip in level from his rival. Alcaraz whipped backhands and fired forehands, the most spectacular one he zipped past Zvererv at the net to secure the first of two consecutive service breaks as he moved to 4-0.

Another moment of concern arose, for after dropping his own serve he called a trainer to the court to receive treatment on his left thigh, which was heavily-bandaged.

But he broke again once play resumed with Zverev now looking lost from the baseline in a final of wildly swinging momentum.

When the 27-year-old played another particularly errant game at 1-all, which featured misses on two easy volleys, a double-fault and an error on a backhand, Alcaraz moved a step closer to history.

The twists looked set to continue the turning affair when Alcaraz faced four break points in the following game, including three in succession at 0-40, only to find enough when required against an increasingly frustrated rival.

At 15-40, Zverev pleaded with umpire Renaud Lichtenstein after he overruled a call for a double-fault that would have secured the German the break back, with Zverev arguing in futile about a call that was extremely close.

Alcaraz faced another break point two games later but again rose to the challenge when thumping a forehand volley after following his serve to the net.

He was tested by a rival in peak form and conditions that blunted his weapons, but in the end, he still proved the best. It is the coronation of a new King of Clay.

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PREVIEW: Major breakthrough or historic moment? Alcaraz chases legends and Zverev looks to banish ghosts

Follow the French Open men’s final live below!