This Sunday, at 2:30 p.m., the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and the German Alexander Zverev face each other on the Philippe-Chatrier court in the final of the French Open.
This duel will establish a new Porte d’Auteuil champion, for the first time since 2015.
Before turning the page, let’s pay a little more homage to the “Big 3″. For two decades, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, dominated world tennis almost completely, with Roland-Garros not escaping the control of the leaders of the circuit. This Sunday, however, for the first time since 2004, the final at Roland-Garros will be played without any of the members of the “Big 3” even though the last two appeared in the table.
A great first, obviously!
Make way for youth! At the age of 21, an unfortunate semi-finalist last year on the crushed brick of Porte d’Auteuil, Carlos Alcaraz (3rd ATP) is the favorite, with two Grand Slams on the clock (US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023).
Opposite, the German (27 years old, 4th in the ATP) with a strong character and winner of Rafael Nadal, has only played one Grand Slam final, at the US Open 2020, which he lost . But the nine confrontations between the two ambitious players are to the advantage of “Sasha” Zverev: five victories against four… including one won in 2022 on the clay of Roland-Garros in the quarter-finals.
Whatever the result of this opposition, which we hope is epic, it will crown a new champion for the first time since Stan Wawrinka in 2015 (winner after a huge performance against “Nole” Djokovic). And also foreshadows the first lines of the new chapter of world tennis.
