TENNIS
What is Carlos Alcaraz’s record in Grand Slam finals? Has he ever played in the French Open final?
Alcaraz defeated Yannik Sinner in five seats and will be looking to continue his impressive record in major finals at Roland-Garros.
Carlos Alcaraz’s sensational finish to his 2024 French Open semifinal against Jannik Sinner saw him come from two seats to one down and prevail in five against the number two seed (2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3). The 21-year-old will now bid to win his third Grand Slam title and his first at Roland-Garros.
Alcaraz’s best performance at the French Open
Rafael Nadal has, of course, been responsible for the recent Spanish dominance in Paris, winning on a record 14 occasions. Alcaraz will now be hoping to take over his compatriot’s mantle after already posting the best French Open performance of his young career. His previous best had been reaching the 2023 semifinals, in which he was beaten by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Up until this point, reaching the final has been the hard part for Alcaraz in Grand Slams. The Spaniard has now made it to the showpiece game in three of the 14 majors he has competed in, winning on both previous occasions.
Which Grand Slam titles has Alcaraz won?
His first Grand Slam victory came at the age of 19 at the 2022 US Open. Alcaraz followed up another five-set win over Sinner in the quarterfinals with a similar triumph over home favourite Francis Tiafoe in the semis. Despite having spent considerably more time on court than final opponent Casper Ruud, the third seed came out on top in four sets for his first ever major title.
A little under a year later, Alcaraz was top seed for his third appearance at Wimbledon and lived up to his billing. Straight sets wins over Holger Rune (sixth seed) in the quarters and Daniil Medvedev (third seed) in the semis were the highlights of his run to the final, where he ran into Djokovic, seeded second.
Things didn’t look good after losing the first set 1-6, but the Spaniard bounced back to take the second and third (also 6-1), going on to win in five.
Alcaraz will now take on Alexander Zverez in his first French Open final and his exceptional finish to his semifinal, as well as previous Grand Slam final results, mean he will be confident of maintaining his 100% record on the big stage.