Carlos Alcaraz will compete in his first Roland Garros final on Sunday and he will face Alexander Zverev, who will also compete in his maiden final in Paris.
There are some interesting parallels between these two players as they both played some amazing tennis historically in Paris but never quite got over the hump. The young Spaniard saw his dreams shattered by cramps last year, while Zverev's ankle injury prevented him from possibly going all the way two years ago.
After playing some amazing tennis, they made it to the semi-finals this year. Alcaraz proved better than Jannik Sinner in five sets, while Zverev downed Casper Ruud in four. Now, they will be facing each other in the final.
The two players have played against each other in finals before, as they contested the Madrid Open final in 2022. Alcaraz won that match easily, but the matchup hasn't been as easy since then.
Zverev scored some pretty wins over the Spaniard, such as in the ATP Finals last year and this year's Australian Open. The match in Australia was very annoying for Alcaraz because he didn't play well at all, which was a bit strange.
He found a better level in Indian Wells, where he easily bested Zverev en route to yet another trophy, so it goes back and forth. Zverev won their only match in Paris, though, so that's something to remember.
| Carlos Alcaraz | Alexander Zverev | |
| 4 | H2H | 5 |
| 3 | Rank | 4 |
| 21 | Age | 27 |
| 24-5 | 2024 W/L | 34-9 |
| 179-48 | Career W/L | 428-186 |
While both of them feel great on the court, the match is on Alcaraz's racket. He will either win the match with it or lose it, and it all comes down to how well he can find solutions for Zverev's wall.
The German's serve will also be a big deal because if he finds his best serve on that day, he's far more likely to win, just simply because he may be impossible to break.
Prediction: Carlos Alcaraz to win in four sets.