Roland-Garros 2024 concluded on Sunday, June 9, to the sound of the “Marcha Real,” the Spanish national anthem. While the melody has often resonated near Porte d’Auteuil to celebrate the successes of a certain Nadal, this time it was dedicated to Carlos Alcaraz. Among the women, it was the Polish player Iga Świątek who triumphed on the court, claiming her fourth Parisian title. Let’s look back at these two rising stars of tennis.
It was a new Roland-Garros that concluded on Sunday, June 9, thus crowning Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Świątek. While many seem to draw nuanced conclusions from this 2024 edition, between empty seats, matches at untimely hours, or evening sessions reserved for men, it at least confirmed the bright trajectory of the new generation and the two winners.
Alcaraz, the prodigy
Grand champion of the 2024 edition of Roland-Garros, Carlos Alcaraz has just confirmed his title as Nadal’s heir apparent.
At just 21 years old, he boasts a lightning-fast track record: fourteen titles, including three Grand Slam tournaments (the 2022 US Open, 2023 Wimbledon, and 2024 Roland-Garros) and five Masters 1000s (Miami in 2022, Indian Wells in 2023 and 2024, and Madrid in 2022 and 2023). In 2022, he impressed by defeating Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Masters 1000, becoming the first player to beat the two members of the Big Three (Roger Federer being the third) in a clay-court tournament, as well as the youngest player since Rafael Nadal in 2005 to beat a world number one player on this surface.
His first triumph on the Philippe-Chatrier court marks a new chapter for the young man from El Palmar. But while Alcaraz shone throughout the tournament at Porte d’Auteuil, his final against the German Alexander Zverev kept spectators on the edge of their seats for a long time. Stronger than the Spaniard, Zverev gave him a hard time, turning their exchanges into a real mental game. Over the course of 4 hours and 19 minutes of play, Alcaraz managed to come back from two sets to one down, eventually emerging victorious in five sets (6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2).
🇪🇸 CARLOS ALCARAZ WINS AT ROLAND-GARROS!!!#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/0fk1SqSPwl
— Prime Video Sport France (@PVSportFR) June 9, 2024
Iga Świątek, the eviscerator
At 23, Iga Świątek seems unstoppable. By claiming her fourth Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros, she is now at the top of the women’s world tennis rankings, where she now leads the American Coco Gauff.
A professional since 2018, the young woman already holds twenty-two singles titles on the WTA tour. She made history on October 10, 2020 by becoming the first Polish player (male or female) to win a Grand Slam tournament by defeating Sofia Kenin in the Roland-Garros final.
Click here to read the full article on Luxus Magazine.
Featured Photo: © Presse
