Alcaraz outclasses Zverev, Swiatek captures third consecutive title: 2024 French Open Final Roundup

5 months AGO

Carlos Alcaraz became the seventh Spanish player to win the French Open in the Open Era

The 2024 French Open concluded with Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek making numerous records and entering several exclusive lists. Novak Djokovic lost his World No. 1 ranking in a concerning way while Rafael Nadal suffered the fourth loss of his Roland Garros career.

The year’s second Grand Slam turned out to be an ambivalent ride for all tennis fans. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the 2024 French Open final matches:

Men’s Singles

Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev suffered a heartbreaking five-set loss against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. Alcaraz became the seventh Spanish player to win the prestigious Roland Garros title. However, the match wasn’t up to the abilities of both tennis stars. The match started with Alexander Zverev’s serve and he made a double fault. He made two double faults in the first game and it seemed like he was under pressure in the big match.

Alcaraz sealed the first set 6-3 in 46 minutes. However, Zverev’s game dramatically improved in the second set, where he broke Alcaraz’s serve three times to win 2-6. The third set started with the Spaniard’s unplayable forehead. He also broke Zverev’s serve to lead the set 5-2. Surprisingly, the 21-year-old lost the set 5-7 due to unforced errors.

The 2020 US Open runner-up required only one set to secure his first Grand Slam title. However, Alcaraz found a new rhyme in the fourth set and made the score levelled 6-1 in 42 minutes, forcing the match into a decider. With the final scoreline reading 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, Alcaraz won his third Grand Slam title.

The German tennis player made a total of 41 unforced errors and scored 38 winners. Meanwhile, Alcaraz secured 52 winners and made 56 unforced errors. Additionally, Zverev struggled to play at net and the success rate of his second serve was only 33%. The two tennis stars are currently tied 5-5 in their head-to-head record. With the win, Carlos Alcaraz has become the youngest player in tennis history to win a Grand Slam on all three surfaces.

Women’s Singles

Iga Swiatek vs Jasmine Paolini

Iga Swiatek defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1 to win her third consecutive French Open title. Jasmine Paolini got off to a decent start in the first set as she broke Swiatek’s serve for a lead of 1-2 in the third game. However, after the break of serve, the WTA World No. 1 went on to display pitch-perfect tennis. Swiatek played powerful backhands with commendable accuracy.

The 12th seed tried her best to compete with Swiatek but eventually failed to keep up with the Pole’s heavy groundstrokes. After being 1-2 down in the initial three games, the Pole marched ahead by winning ten consecutive games across both sets. Winning 57 points, compared to Paolini’s 31, the WTA World No. 1 easily secured her fourth French Open title after one hour and eight minutes.

Swiatek has become only the third woman in the Open Era to win three consecutive French Open titles, after Justine Henin (2005-2007) and Monica Seles (1990-1992). The Pole is also the youngest player in the Open Era to win four French Open singles titles. The record was previously held by Seles.

Jasmine Paolini reached her first singles Grand Slam final at the 2024 French Open

Additionally, Swiatek has become the first woman to win three consecutive titles at a specific Grand Slam after Serena Williams at the US Open between 2012 and 2014. The WTA World No. 1 is also on a 21-match unbeaten streak in the French Open. Only Chris Evert (29), Monica Seles (25), and Justine Henin (24) have won more consecutive matches than Swiatek.

Men’s Doubles

Mate Pavic & Marcelo Arevalo vs Andrea Vavassori & Simone Bolelli

Mate Pavic & Marcelo Arevalo completed a breakthrough campaign in Paris by winning the men’s doubles title at the 2024 French Open. They defeated the Italian duo of Andrea Vavassori & Simone Bolelli 7-5, 6-3, who stunned the second-seed pair of Rohan Bopanna & Matthew Ebden in the semi-final.

Both pairs avoided a break of serve in the first set until the scoreline read 5-5. However, Pavic and Arevalo heroically saved four break points to win the game and later, they broke the Italian duo’s serve in the next game to clinch the set.

Vavassori and Bolelli took an early lead in the second set by breaking the opposition pair’s serve 1-2. However, Pavic and Arevalo immediately broke back in the next game to equal the score. However, they broke again in the eighth game to take a decisive 5-3 lead in the second set.

The Italian duo also reached the final of the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open in January, where they lost against Bopanna and Ebden in straight sets. Unfortunately, they again ended up as the runners-up at the second Grand Slam of the season.

Women’s Doubles

Jasmine Paolini & Sara Errani vs Coco Gauff & Kateřina Siniaková

After changing multiple partners since the start of the 2024 campaign, Coco Gauff won her first doubles Grand Slam title partnering with Kateřina Siniaková

Coco Gauff got a fairy tale ending to her Roland Garros campaign as she completed her redemption over Jasmine Paolini & Sara Errani and won the women’s doubles titles at the 2024 French Open. The American tennis star was eliminated in the semifinals of the singles event by eventual champion Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-4. Gauff was also seen crying after the loss as her appeal in the second set was also turned down by the match umpire.

Gauff’s reported partner Taylor Townsend also suffered an injury before the 2024 French Open. As a result, she decided to team up with Kateřina Siniaková. The Czech-American pair recorded a resounding 7-6, 6-3 victory over Italy’s Errani & Paolini in the 2024 French Open final.

Interestingly, the pair of Coco Gauff and Erin Routliffe suffered a loss against the Italian duo in the 2024 Italian Open final, last month. Meanwhile, Jasmine Paolini, who played the women’s singles and the doubles final, failed to lift the trophy in both events. It was Gauff’s first doubles Grand Slam title. She played two Grand Slam finals earlier, the US Open 2021 and the French Open 2022, losing both.