As a child, Carlos Alcaraz used to run home from school to watch the French Open on TV, dreaming of one day playing on the tournament’s clay courts and becoming champion.

That dream became a reality Sunday as the Spaniard defeated world No. 4 Alexander Zverev in five sets to lift his third Grand Slam title — at only 21.

In a gritty and often unpredictable performance on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Alcaraz showed his trademark fight and resilience against Zverev, coming back from two sets to one down to become the youngest man to win major titles on clay, grass and hard courts.

“Honestly, first of all, I’m exhausted,” Alcaraz said after claiming his first title at Roland Garros. “It was a really tough one. It is a dream come true for me.

“This tournament, I’ve watched it since I was 5, 6 years old … Being in this position right now is so, so special,” he added. With Alcaraz’s latest success comes yet another tattoo. He already has the dates of his Grand Slam wins at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon — the latter alongside a strawberry synonymous with the tournament — inked on his skin, and now plans to get the Eiffel Tower and Sunday’s date on his left ankle.

It seems a fitting choice: After his victory in the City of Light, Alcaraz shared an old photo of himself aged 12, watching the tournament on a big screen in the shadow of the Paris landmark.

With his victory over Zverev, the world No. 2 joins a long line of Spanish men to have lifted the French Open title. Rafael Nadal leads the way with a record-breaking 14 titles, while Juan Carlos Ferrero, Albert Costa, Carlos Moyá and Sergi Bruguera have all been champions since 1993.

“I really wanted to put my name on that list as well,” said Alcaraz, who is now coached by 2003 winner Ferrero.

Having sustained an arm injury ahead of this year’s French Open, the Murcia native withdrew from the Italian Open but has exceeded his expectations physically over the past two weeks, winning four of his seven matches in three sets.

It was only against Zverev and new world No. 1 Jannik Sinner that Alcaraz went the distance — the first man in the Open Era to win the final and the semifinal of the French Open in five sets.

After losing the third set against Zverev, letting slip a 5-2 lead, he had to dig deep into his energy reserves and raise his intensity, racing around the court and chasing down every shot.

Alcaraz’s attention now turns to Wimbledon, where he will defend the title he won in dramatic fashion against Novak Djokovic last year, and then the Olympics in Paris, which will mean a return to Roland Garros.

There, he hopes to play doubles alongside Nadal as well as going for a gold medal in the singles competition. (SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【等同于】děngtóng yú synonymous with closely connected

【坚持到底】jiānchí dàodǐ go the distance manage to continue until the end of a competition

小时候，卡洛斯•阿尔卡拉斯经常从学校跑回家看法国网球公开赛，梦想着有朝一日能在红土场上拼杀夺冠。

周日，梦想变成了现实，西班牙人在五盘比赛中击败了世界排名第四的亚历山大•兹维列夫，年仅21岁的他第三次夺得大满贯冠军。

在菲利普•夏蒂埃球场艰难而又跌宕起伏的比赛中，阿尔卡拉斯展现了他标志性的战斗力和韧性，在两盘比一盘落后的情况下顽强挽回局面，成为在红土、草地和硬地赛场上都赢得大满贯冠军的最年轻选手。

阿尔卡拉斯在罗兰•加洛斯首次夺冠后说：“老实说，我已经筋疲力尽了。这是一场非常艰难的比赛。对我来说是梦想成真了。”他补充说：“我5、6岁起就开始关注这项赛事，...... 现在能站在这个位置上，太特别了。”

伴随这次夺冠，阿尔卡拉斯身上又多了一个纹身。他的皮肤已经纹上了美网和温网夺冠的日期 —— 温网日期旁还纹上了标志性的草莓图案，现在他打算在左脚踝纹上埃菲尔铁塔和6月9日。

这一切水到渠成： 在光之城夺冠后，阿尔卡拉斯分享了自己12岁时在巴黎地标埃菲尔铁塔阴影下通过大屏幕观看比赛的旧照。

战胜兹维列夫后，这位世界排名第二的选手加入了西班牙男子法网冠军的战队。拉斐尔•纳达尔以前无古人的14次夺冠记录领跑，而胡安•卡洛斯•费雷罗、阿尔伯特•科斯塔、卡洛斯•莫亚和塞尔吉•布鲁格拉自1993年以来都曾夺冠。阿尔卡拉斯曾经表示：“我真的很想把自己的名字也写进这份名单。”他现在的教练是2003年的冠军费雷罗。

由于在今年的法网前手臂受伤，这个来自西班牙穆尔西亚的选手退出了意大利网球公开赛，但在过去两周里，他的身体状况超出了预期，七场比赛中四场都是三盘轻松取胜。

只有在对阵兹维列夫和新科世界排名第一的扬尼克•辛纳时阿尔卡拉斯才打满五盘 —— 他是公开赛时代第一位在法网决赛和半决赛中都打满五盘的选手。

在与兹维列夫的第三盘比赛中，阿尔卡拉斯在5比2领先的情况下失利，他不得不发掘潜能，全力应对，在球场上飞奔，追赶每一粒击球。

现在，阿尔卡拉斯转而备战温布尔登，期待卫冕冠军头衔；去年在温网他戏剧性地战胜了诺瓦克•德约科维奇。

然后是征战巴黎奥运会，届时他将重返罗兰•加洛斯。本届奥运会他期待与纳达尔一起参加双打比赛，并向单打金牌发起冲击。(Translated by Debra)