Who will win the men's French Open final?

Tom Hamilton, a seasoned author, wrote a blog post on June 8th, 2024 at 1:43 in the afternoon.

In Paris, Carlos Alcaraz has the opportunity to prove himself as the top clay court player by going up against Alexander Zverev in the French Open final for men on Sunday.

Alcaraz, who is 21 years old, has been predicted to inherit Rafael Nadal's talent for a while now. He has won two Grand Slam titles so far, both at the Wimbledon and the US Open Tournaments. Recently, he made it to the finals at Roland Garros and achieved the title of being the youngest man to achieve this feat in all three surfaces.

Zverev, who is 27 years old, managed to make it to four back-to-back semifinals in the French Open, however, this time he's made it to the final. This marks his second Grand Slam final appearance.

Here's how every athlete has the potential to emerge victorious in the championship match of the French Open.

"Carlos Alcaraz's Winning Prospects"

Alcaraz arrived at the Roland Garros tournament with a painful forearm injury. Prior to this, he had to pull out of the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open. His loss in Madrid to Andrey Rublev and withdrawal from Rome further affected his performance. This made his preparations for the French Open quite challenging. Even during the early stages of the tournament, he was vocal about his inability to unleash his forehand with full power.

We've observed Alcaraz progress throughout the tournament, even though some have worries about his usually potent forehand. Nevertheless, he has successfully held off all opponents. He triumphed over J.J. Wolf in the first round, overcame tricky qualifier Jesper de Jong, and defeated Sebastian Korda without losing a set. He had a straightforward win against Felix Auger-Aliassime and then beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the quarter-finals despite it potentially being a difficult match.

Tsitsipas commented after the game that the child was extremely talented.

The game against Sinner was the toughest one for Alcaraz in the semi-finals. At first, he didn't seem to be playing with much energy, but with a battle of stamina and accuracy, he managed to beat Sinner on Friday after a grueling 4 hours and 10 minutes, winning by a score of 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Alcaraz's playing style is particularly well-matched to clay. The way he moves around the baseline looks natural to him as he smoothly glides across the surface. In the second set of his match against Sinner, Alcaraz wisely chose to incorporate more aggressive tactics by using speed to approach the net. This strategic move ultimately proved to be a game-changer and helped him secure the victory.

According to Tsitsipas, he is incredibly impressed with how well the player in question is handling the ball, and he is able to effortlessly modify his direction. Tsitsipas even draws comparisons to Djokovic, noting how this player constructs points and uses his mind to come up with effective tactics consistently. Tsitsipas sees this player as always having an answer to any situation and refers to him as an intelligent player with an exceptional tennis IQ.

Alcaraz made it to the semifinals of this competition the previous year, however, he encountered some problems with cramping and eventually lost to Djokovic. Despite once again facing difficulties with cramps this year, Alcaraz managed to overcome them and advance through to the next round.

"On Friday," he stated, "I was mentally tougher and had the knowledge to handle the circumstance. I was aware that the cramps would subside if I persisted."

Alcaraz possesses a skill to achieve a higher level of performance even when it seems he's already performing at his best. "The trick is to find happiness in the challenges," he explained following his triumph against Sinner.

"Alexander Zverev's Winning Chances"

Zverev has made it to three consecutive semifinals and has finally managed to advance to his first French Open final. However, in 2021, he was beaten by Tsitsipas in the final four. In 2022, during his clash with Nadal, he put up a great fight but ended up injuring his ankle ligaments and had to retire after the second set. In the previous year, he lost to Casper Ruud in straight sets.

However, in the year 2024, he is close to becoming the champion. Zverev expressed, "My experiences on the Philippe-Chatrier court have been both good and bad, but I am fully committed to giving it my all on Sunday."

Zverev had a fantastic time at Roland Garros. It all began with his first match against Nadal, which he won convincingly in three sets. He then went on to defeat David Goffin in the second round. However, in the third round, Zverev was pushed to the limit by Tallon Griekspoor and had to fight for five sets to secure the win. The fourth round was also a grueling match against Holger Rune that went the distance. Nonetheless, Zverev managed to triumph in the end. His quarterfinal contest against Alex De Minaur was an easier match, which he managed to win quite easily.

In the semifinals against Ruud, he initially lost the first set, but then regained momentum by breaking Ruud at the beginning of the second set and maintaining his dominance throughout the match. Zverev stated that he recognized the need to become more forceful in his approach to the game.

Among the players on tour, Ruud stands as a formidable clay court specialist, but unfortunately, his performance during the match was hindered by a stomach ailment. Zverev managed to claim the victory with a final score of 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

Zverev is currently leading 5-4 against Alcaraz, but it appears that Alcaraz is well prepared for the matchup. David Goffin shared his thoughts after losing in the second round, noting that Alcaraz displays excellent serving skills, maintains a strong foundation, displays a great ability to hit shots across the court, and demonstrates exceptional movement around the court.

Zverev demonstrated his strategic abilities in his match against Griekspoor during the third round. He adapted to the situation by altering his approach when necessary. Zverev shared that his initial thought was to figure out how to give himself the best chance of making a comeback, despite being down 4-1. He realized that Griekspoor's serve and volley game was effective and decided to neutralize it. This adjustment ultimately worked in his favor.

During Zverev's time playing at Roland Garros, a case was ongoing back in his home country of Germany. He was facing allegations of domestic violence from an ex-partner. However, on Friday, it was revealed that both parties came to an agreement outside of court. Zverev has settled with the woman who accused him.

Alcaraz has wonderful memories of the tournament he used to watch when he was younger. After finishing his classes in El Palmar, Spain, he would hurry home to catch the French Open on television. "I desired my name to be among the numerous Spanish names that have proven victorious in this competition," he revealed. He drew inspiration from Nadal, but he aims to join the ranks of Manuel Santana, Andres Gimeno, Sergi Bruguera, Carlos Moya, Albert Costa, and Juan Carlos Ferrero, all of whom have claimed victory at the French Open.

Alcaraz has managed to surpass the accomplishments of his talented rivals by making it to a Grand Slam final on every type of court at a younger age than Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal. Although he acknowledges the significance of this accomplishment, Alcaraz states that he prefers not to dwell on it and remains focused on his own goals. Breaking records is an outstanding achievement for him, but it is not his primary concern.

Zverev is presently exhibiting his top-notch tennis skills and firmly believes that he is gradually mastering the clay surface.

He spoke on the court after defeating Ruud, saying "If it's not now, then when?" He believes that if a player makes it to the final of Roland Garros, they've earned their place, and this applies to Alcaraz as well. Winning a Grand Slam requires persevering through many tough matches. If he manages to win the trophy, it will be incredibly meaningful to him.

Get ready for a long, five-set match, with Alcaraz prevailing in a tiebreak.