CARLOS ALCARAZ overcame painful cramp in his legs as he fulfilled a childhood dream to become King of Clay at the French Open. As 14-time champion Rafael Nadal edges closer to retirement, the Parisians now have a new Spanish hero to worship on the red stuff of Court Philippe-Chatrier. Alcaraz – who used to race home from school to watch Roland Garros on the TV – joined a long list of fellow countrymen to lift this title thanks to a 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2 triumph over Alexander Zverev .
It was a sinew-straining four-hour-nineteen-minute performance from the former world No1, who needed treatment on his thigh muscles as the five-set endurance test took its toll. Whatever else he may achieve in his career, Alcaraz can sleep easy at night knowing he has accomplished a lifelong ambition. And at the age of 21, he has become the youngest man to win major championships on all three different surfaces – hard, grass and now clay.
Now he will head Down Under in January aiming to complete the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open - three months before his 22nd birthday. This was the first French Open final since 2004 in which none of Nadal, Novak Djokovic nor Roger Federer – the Big Three of this Golden Era – had been involved. A new name was going to be engraved on the Coupe des Mousquetaires – translated in English as The Musketeers’ Trophy – but proceedings did not exactly start in swashbuckling fashion.
This final took place two days after Zverev’s domestic abuse tr.
