There is rarely a dull moment with Carlos Alcaraz, but he perhaps outdid even himself at the start of the fourth set of his French Open men’s singles final against Alexander Zverev.
Trailing two sets to one to the German and appearing to be lacking momentum, Alcaraz wrestled the destiny of the match back his way with two stunning plays.
The first saw the young Spaniard retrieve a ball he had no business making, sprinting forward from downtown before somehow chipping a beautiful lobbed winner over Zverev.
Next, standing at 30-40 ahead on his opponent’s serve, Alcaraz latched onto a Zverev volley with astonishing speed to lasso a whipped forehand just millimetres inside the line, and break to move 2-0 up in the set.
“Look at the hook on that forehand,” said Tim Henman on Eurosport commentary, in full admiration.
He would go on to take the fourth to level up matters at two sets all, as the pair delivered an instant classic on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Alcaraz had initially stormed out of the blocks to take the opening set, but Zverev mounted a fine fightback for his one-set lead – before the Spaniard’s heroics.