Alcaraz wins first set against Zverev in Roland Garros final

Carlos Alcaraz has made a red-hot start to Sunday’s championship match at Roland Garros, where the Spaniard leads Alexander Zverev 6-3 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

After a cagey start in which both players dropped their opening service game, Alcaraz locked in on return to clinch the opening set at the clay-court major in Paris. The 21-year-old is bidding to become the youngest player to capture a Grand Slam title on three different surfaces after his triumphs on hard courts at the 2022 US Open and grass at 2023 Wimbledon.

Zverev made a shaky start to his second major final by serving back-to-back double faults to open proceedings, after which the German immediately changed his racquet. He was nonetheless broken three times in the opening set, and also had to fend off two break points to hold in another of his service games at 2-4.

Although not always at his best, Alcaraz deployed good variety to disrupt Zverev’s rhythm, and he was eager to channel the support of a capacity crowd after prevailing in any extended rallies.

ALCARAZ GRABS THE OPENER! 6-3 ??#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/EszkFyslLq

Both players are competing in their maiden championship match at Roland Garros. Whoever prevails, there will be a first-time champion on the Paris clay for the first time since Novak Djokovic’s 2016 title run.

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