Carlos Alcaraz wins 1st French Open, 3rd Grand Slam title

As Carlos Alcaraz began constructing his comeback in Sunday's French Open final, a 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Alexander Zverev for a first championship at Roland Garros and third Grand Slam title in all, he conjured up the sort of magical shot the 21-year-old is making a regular part of his varied repertoire.

It was a running, then sliding, down-the-line, untouchable forehand passing winner that Alcaraz celebrated by thrusting his right index finger overhead in a "No. 1" sign, then throwing an uppercut while screaming, "Vamos!"

No, he is not ranked No. 1 at the moment – the man he beat in the semifinals, Jannik Sinner, makes his debut at the top spot on Monday – but Alcaraz has been there before and, although a "two" will be beside his name next week, there is little doubt that he is as good as it gets in men's tennis right now. And more accomplished than any man ever was at his age.

Alcaraz is a 21-year-old from Spain who grew up running home from school to watch countryman Rafael Nadal on TV as he was accumulating title after title at Roland Garros – a record 14 – and now Alcaraz has eclipsed Nadal as the youngest man to collect major championships on three surfaces. Nadal was about 18 months older when he did it.

"Different tournaments, different aura," Alcaraz said when asked to distinguish among his trio of trophies, "but I'm going to say: same feeling. I mean, winning a Grand Slam is always special."

This one from the clay-court major joins hardware from triumphs on hard courts at the U.S. Open in 2022 and on grass at Wimbledon in 2023. He is 3-0 in Slam finals.

"It's an amazing career already. You're already a Hall of Famer. You already achieved so much – and you're only 21 years old," said Zverev, who also lost the 2020 U.S. Open final, that one after being two points from winning. "Incredible player. Not the last time you're going to win this."

Zverev, a 27-year-old from Germany, exited the French Open in the semifinals each of the past three years, including after tearing ankle ligaments during the second set against Nadal in that round in 2022. Hours before Zverev's semifinal victory over Casper Ruud began on Friday, a Berlin district court announced that he reached an out-of-court settlement that ended a trial stemming from an ex-girlfriend's accusation of assault during a 2020 argument.