Carlos Alcaraz made a grand entrance into the tennis history books as he claimed his maiden French Open title to become the youngest man to capture grand slams on all three surfaces with a see-saw five-set victory over Alexander Zverev on Sunday.

The 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 win may not have been a classic, but the Spaniard showed he belonged among the elite as he added a third grand slam title to his 2022 US Open and 2023 Wimbledon triumphs.

Alcaraz became the seventh man to win a major on hard, grass and clay courts, a feat that eluded some of the sport’s greats, including American Pete Sampras, who boasts of 14 major titles, but never won at Roland Garros.

At 21 years old, Alcaraz has played in three grand slam finals and won them all, while in comparison, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were in their late 20s before they mastered the sport’s slowest surface.

“Since I was little kid I was running from school to put on the TV to watch this tournament. Now I am lifting the trophy in front of all of you,” said Alcaraz, who was described by Zverev as a “Hall of Famer”. The legendary Bjorn Borg presented the trophy.

Sunday’s defeat prolonged Zverev’s frustration at grand slams, with the German still chasing a first title despite reaching the last four eight times. “I’ll be back next year,” Zverev promised.

In the first men’s Roland Garros final not featuring any member of the Big Three — Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Federer — in two decades, Alcaraz and Zverev failed to impress, their lack of consistency making for a disappointing display.

Alcaraz often looked like he had got the upper hand, only to let it slip several times but he ultimately rose to the occasion against an increasingly frustrated Zverev, who entered the final on the back of a 12-match winning streak on clay.

The fourth seed has now lost both his grand slam finals, after losing the US Open decider four years ago when he was two points away from victory against Dominic Thiem.

Alcaraz, who has suffered from bouts of nerves at Roland Garros, where his compatriot Nadal won a record 14 titles, kept his composure despite some blips. Clay was the surface which Alcaraz grew up playing on in his hometown of Murcia and the French Open was the event he dreamt of winning.

He instantly fell on to his back — in a celebration akin to Nadal — when he took his first match point after four hours and 19 minutes with a forehand winner.