Top
Carlos Alcaraz - Roland Garros 2024
ATP Tennis Players, Carlos Alcaraz, Roland Garros, Tennis News

Carlos Alcaraz reveals ‘doubts’ after ‘special’ Roland Garros victory


Carlos Alcaraz has revealed that he had ‘a lot of doubts’ heading into Roland Garros this year, after becoming the youngest man in history to win a major title on every surface. 

Alcaraz continued his 100% record in Grand Slam finals, after fighting back from two-sets-to-one-down to beat Alexander Zverev, 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2.

As a result, the Spaniard has won major titles at the US Open (2022), Wimbledon (2023) and now Roland Garros (2024) at just 21-years-old.

However, it was not all plain-sailing for Alcaraz heading into the Paris major, having struggled with an injury in his right forearm that forced him to withdraw from the Italian Open.

And Alcaraz detailed his doubts coming into Roland Garros this year, “The last month we were struggling a lot with the injury and coming back to Madrid and not feeling well.”

He continued, “Then the next weeks, with a lot of doubts, coming here and practising not too much. I’m really grateful to have the team that I have and the people that I have around.

“I know that everyone is giving their heart just to make me improve as a player and a person; to grow up. I’m really grateful, and I call you a team, but it’s a family, so thank you very much.”

Alcaraz then went onto speak about the journey of watching this tournament as a child to lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires himself.

“When I finished school, I put the TV on just to watch this tournament, and now I’m lifting the trophy in front of all of you, so thank you very much for the whole journey,” said the Murcian.

“[With] the crowd has been a great journey since the first match until today. I have good words [for] you guys. The support has been unbelievable; not only in the matches but in practice as well. I feel at home. You made this tournament so special, and I’ll see you soon.”

As a result of winning his third Grand Slam title, Alcaraz will rise to world No.2 when the rankings are released on Monday ahead of defending the title at Queen’s and Wimbledon over the next month.

Inside the baseline…

Everyone knew just how good Carlos Alcaraz was, but today he cemented that even further – and he is still only 21-years-old! Although he did not always play his best tennis, in the big moments Carlos Alcaraz rose to the occasion and that is what the best players in the world are so good at doing. There were a lot of doubts around Alcaraz coming into the tournament, but it appears that his arm is no longer an issue and it is great to see another Spaniard lifting this trophy after Rafael Nadal dominated for so many years.

READ NEXT: Iga Swiatek reflects on ’emotional’ fourth Roland Garros title

 Join >> Receive $700/£600 of tennis gear from the Tennishead CLUB

 Social >> Facebook, Twitter & YouTube

 Read >> World’s best tennis magazine

 Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted partner 


By
0

Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.