Paris.-Years ago, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, they were installed for Roland Garros a couple of clay courts. It was done to promote the tournament and to host, during the first week of the French Grand Slam, a junior tournament with the greatest world promises. The 2015 edition brought together two players who are at the forefront of tennis today: Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune.
The two were victims of the same player, a Chinese named Xiaofei Wang who remained promising (he recently reached position 524 in the ATP ranking), and They returned home empty-handed. The Dane lost in the quarterfinals, while Alcaraz fell in the semifinals by 4-1, 1-4 and 7-1 in the final tie break.
“In the tie-break I saw him very nervous. I think he has seen options in this scenario and has become very nervous. It had been a long time since he had seen him as nervous as he was in the tie-break. He was like blocked,” said the coach who accompanied him on the adventure, Carlos Santos.
Before packing our bags, the website Tennistopic (specialized in tennis and which disappeared a few years ago) recorded a short interview with Alcaraz who now, in 2024 and with the Murcian qualified for the final of Roland Garrosit has become premonitory. Sitting on a wooden bench, Alcaraz, 12, shyly answers the journalist’s questions.
During the 65 seconds that the video lasts, Alcaraz says that he is 12 years old, he says what his best victory to date is and who has been the toughest opponent he has played against and then comes the crumb. “What is your favorite tournament to date?” they ask him. “Rolad Garros,” she responds briefly. “And what would be your dream as a professional?” they ask him next. “Win Roland Garros and Wimbledon”. Then he says that his idol is Federer, that he likes soccer and going fishing and that he is doing well in his studies.
“I remember leaving school and running home to plug in the TV and watch Roland Garros, because the games coincided with school finishing time”
Carlos Alcaraz
On Friday, after beating Jannik Sinner in the semis in five sets (2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and 6-2), The man from Murcia remembered that trip he made at the age of 12 to Paris, when he lost in the semifinals of the junior tournament and when he stepped foot in the Roland Garros facilities for the first time.. In addition to the invitation to play, the tennis players who participated in the youth tournament organized by Longines were able to go to the center court one day.
“He had only come once when he was 11 or 12 years old and he came to play the under-13 tournament. It was a very nice moment because pI met many players and I met Holger. I was able to live the experience of playing internationally and saw a wonderful game“said the tennis player from El Palmar at a press conference, where he recalled what he liked to watch at Roland Garros when he was little.
“I remember that I left school and ran home to plug in the TV and watch Roland Garros, because the games coincided with school finishing time.“said the former number one. “I watched a lot of matches, of course those of Rafa Nadal, who has dominated the tournament for 14 years. It was incredible. I wanted to put the name on that list of Spaniards who have won the tournament, not only Rafa, but also Ferrero, Moyà, Costa… players who are legends of our sport. “I want to put my name on that list.”
