Which shot separated Alcaraz & Zverev in the Roland Garros final?

Thirty-nine forehand winners to 24. Look no further for the difference-maker.

Carlos Alcaraz hit 15 more forehand winners than Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s Roland Garros final, while only winning 14 more total points (153-139) en route to a gruelling 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 victory. The forehands provided the separation he desperately needed to erase a two-sets-to-one deficit and secure his first Grand Slam title on clay in Paris.

The majority of match metrics highlighted just how close these two were competing in the four-hour and 19-minute final – except when it came to forehands ending the point.

Forehand Performance

Alcaraz
– Winners = 39
– Total Errors = 60
– Winners – Errors = -21

Zverev
– Winners = 24
– Total Errors = 63
– Winners – Errors = -39

MAKE THAT A THIRD 🏆🏆🏆

Alcaraz claims his third Grand Slam title, making him the youngest ever player to win a Slam on all three surfaces 💫@rolandgarros | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/cP3ltfwHup

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 9, 2024

The 21-year-old Spaniard was consistently getting the better of Zverev in forehand-to-forehand exchanges, pulling him wide off the court to extract forehand errors and to also cleverly play behind him as he recovered back to the middle of the court for the next shot.

In the final two sets, Alcaraz turned up the dial with his fearsome forehand, crushing 15 forehand winners to only five for Zverev. Even more impressive was that Alcaraz only committed 17 forehand errors (forced and unforced) to 21. With history on the line, Alcaraz ran away from Zverev towards the finish line more because of his forehand than any other shot on the court.

Backhand Performance

Alcaraz
– Winners = 13
– Total Errors = 41
– Winners – Errors = -28

Zverev
– Winners = 14
– Total Errors = 38
– Winners – Errors = -24

Zverev’s overall backhand statistics were marginally better than Alcaraz’s, as the German dominated Ad-court rallies and also hit several spectacular backhands down the line for a winner or to force a running forehand error from his opponent. In the final two sets, Zverev struck slightly more backhand winners (7-6), but also yielded more backhand errors (16-11) as fatigue and a rampaging opponent took the match out of his hands.

It’s also important to note that there were a combined 93 points at net as both players looked to the front of the court to win quick points with serve and volley and also by approaching during the rally. Alcaraz won a healthy 63 per cent (25/40), while Zverev came in more, but won less, winning 57 per cent (30/53) of his net points. A key strategy to Alcaraz’s resurgence in the match was coming forward to finish the point at net or hitting drop shots to drag Zverev away from the baseline, where he was not as proficient.

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Alcaraz hit 20 drop shots in the final to just 10 for Zverev. It had the desired effect of mixing up patterns of play and not letting Zverev control the back of the court with his crosscourt backhand. There were 39 volleys hit in the final, with Zverev hitting 20 and Alcaraz hitting 19.

Alcaraz’s dominance really kicked in when Zverev missed his powerful, high-jumping first serve, and the Spaniard got a chance to attack the German’s second serve. While Alcaraz essentially broke even with second-serve points won at 49 per cent (Won 31/63), Zverev was getting crushed behind his second serve, only winning 33 per cent (12/36). In the final two sets, Zverev was only able to win a lowly 20 per cent (3/15) starting the point with a second serve.

In a match that featured 51 points of nine shots or longer, Alcaraz ultimately dominated his heavy-hitting opponent with powerful forehands, strategic forays forward to the net, and owning his opponent’s second serve.

Paris salutes the young and the brave.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]