Both men had reason to be nervous and it showed in a strange match where neither regularly played anywhere near their best.

For Alcaraz, he was aiming to win the tournament which he used to run home from school to watch.

Zverev, meanwhile, was aiming to fulfil the talent many saw when the prodigious teenager followed older brother Mischa a former Australian Open quarter-finalist - around on tour.

An edgy Zverev opened up with two double faults on his way to losing serve, but broke back after uncertain hitting from Alcaraz.

Alcaraz began to settle as he soaked up Zverevs powerful groundstrokes and took the Germans serve again for a 3-2 lead. Now starting to strut, the crosscourt forehand winner which sealed the set illustrated his growing confidence.

In the second set Zverev found more depth and bounce with his returning. A despondent-looking Alcaraz struggled to cope and lost five games in a row from a 2-1 lead.

The level and intensity increased in what both players knew was a pivotal third set. Alcaraz broke to love pretty much out of nowhere having lost the previous 14 points on Zverevs serve but momentum and quality continued to fluctuate.

From a 5-2 deficit, Zverev levelled for 5-5 and broke a tense Alcaraz for 6-5 before serving out for the lead.

Another twist came in the fourth. This time, Zverevs level dipped sharply and Alcaraz, despite needing treatment for a leg injury, ran away to force a decider.

By now Zverev had spent almost 24 hours on court in the tournament having taken the longest route to the French Open final since records began in 1991.

After going a break behind at 2-1, the Olympic champion dipped into his mental and physical reserves again to force five break points in the fifth set, but could not take any of them as Alcaraz survived.

When Alcaraz broke for 5-2, with the help of a sensational backhand crosscourt winner, Zverev looked utterly demoralised and could not recover.

More to follow.