Alexander Zverev vs Carlos Alcaraz, for glory and his first time in Paris

This Sunday there will be a new champion of Roland Garros: Carlos Alcaraz o Alexander Zverev. The Spaniard, champion of the US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023, will become the youngest tennis player in history to play Grand Slam finals on all three surfaces when he faces the German, who will seek to conquer the first Major of his career. They will play starting at 9:30 in Argentina (2:30 in Paris).

Alcaraz21 years old, had to battle for four hours and nine minutes to beat Jannik Sinner (22) in five sets (2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and 6-3) in which many considered an early final due to two enormous talents who are called to take the baton of the “Big Three” (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic).

However, Carlitos He doesn’t see it that way. “I don’t feel like it was an early final. Today (Friday) was a great victory and nothing more. Zverev is playing at a very, very high level and it is going to be a very tough match. “I’m going to have to fight it and play very well tactically to win,” he said at the press conference after qualifying for the grand final.

At the same time, he was optimistic about obtaining a good result. “I imagine myself with the cup, that’s the truth. We are one step away. It is one of the most complicated steps there is, but in the end there is always a phrase that I repeat a lot and that is: ‘finals are not to be played, but to be won’. I have the image in my head of being able to lift the trophy, but there is a long way to go because the match is going to be complicated,” he added.

For its part, Zverev managed to take revenge Casper Ruud, his executioner in one of last year’s semifinals, and beat the Norwegian 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 and 6-2 in two hours and 35 minutes of play. Then, he began to beat the definition of the title. “In a Grand Slam final there are no easy matches, there are no easy opponents to beat. If you are in a Roland Garros final, it is deserved. That also goes for him (Alcaraz). He played a fantastic match, a great tournament overall and I am expecting a very difficult match,” he synthesized.

SashaHe also pointed out the 2020 US Open final that he lost to Dominic Thiem, in which he was 2-0 in sets and served for the match, and the 2022 Roland Garros semis – a serious injury forced him to retire against Nadal. ― as “part of the path” and made public the desire he has for these hours: “I hope to play my best tennis and give myself a chance to win.”

In any case, Alcaraz, who if he beats Zverev will be Sinner’s second in the rankings, is the favorite to win the title at the Philippe Chatrier and be the first Roland Garros champion other than the “Big Three” or Stan Wawrinka. since the Argentine Gastón Gaudio in 2004.

It will be the tenth confrontation between the two. The German dominates the series 5-4 and beat him this year in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, but the only final played between the two was for the Spaniard, a resounding 6-3 and 6-1 at the Madrid Masters 1000 2022.