Carlos Alcaraz’s third grand slam title maintains his perfect record in major finals.

The 21-year-old battled cramps to recover from 2-1 down in sets on Sunday and win a gripping contest 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 after four hours and 19 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Alcaraz adds the Roland Garros crown to the Wimbledon title he won against Novak Djokovic last year and the 2022 US Open.

He will head to the Australian Open next year with the chance to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.

Fourth-seed Zverev, who settled a court case in Germany two days ago over domestic abuse allegations, is still waiting for a maiden major title.

He had also lost his only previous Slam final in five sets, when he blew a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.

Zverev had high hopes of finally getting over the line – he has also lost six Slam semifinals – but Alcaraz was too strong in the key moments as he levelled their head-to-head record at 5-5.

Alcaraz said before the final that he wanted to join the list of men’s players from his country, including his idol Rafael Nadal, to win the Roland Garros title, and he celebrated becoming the eighth Spanish champion by falling to the clay with his head in his hands in disbelief.