Carlos Alcaraz was recently interviewed by the Financial Times where he spoke about various aspects of his game and his life beyond court. The Spaniard spoke about his Roland Garros title defense, which also marked his fifth Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz met his arch-rival World No. 1 Jannik Sinner for the first time in a Grand Slam final. It was a match that exceeded everyone’s expectations, going down as one of the best Grand Slam finals. It was a grueling five-set battle between the top two players in the world, with both displaying great tenacity and an extremely high level of tennis.
However, it was ultimately Alcaraz’s fighting spirit that stunned everyone. Clocking 5 hours and 29 minutes, it marked the longest Roland Garros final and the second-longest Grand Slam final. Commenting about his performance, Alcaraz said:
I just thought about coming back little by little: one point, then another, then another, especially those three points. Finishing a Grand Slam is extremely difficult, so I knew I would have a chance. That’s why I stayed calm. I knew it wouldn’t be easy for him…
In the fourth set while trailing 3-5, he saved three championship points, becoming the third man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam after being championship points down. This also marked the first time that Alcaraz won a match from two-sets-to-love down in his career. He further added:
At no point did I doubt I could come back, but obviously you have to show an image of self-confidence at all times. As soon as you show weakness to the other, it’s over, you’re lost. That was kind of the image I wanted to give too.
With this triumph, Alcaraz also reached a milestone that neither of the Big 3 had accomplished- defending both his Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles, carving a unique legacy and path for himself. He became the first person since Bjorn Borg to defend his Roland Garros and Wimbledon crown.
Carlos Alcaraz explains why he’s not taking the Queen’s Club Championships trophy home
As seen in his Netflix documentary, when he’s not travelling, Carlos Alcaraz spends time with his parents and lives in their apartment. He also uses his bedroom there as a storage depot for his growing trove of trophies. At the age of 22, Alcaraz has already clinched 21 trophies, however he faces a shortage of space to store all of them:
There are trophies in my room and in the living room. We’re looking for more spaces to put them.
Carlos Alcaraz (image via HSBC Championships)
Alcaraz also laughingly remarked that The Queen’s Club trophy, for instance, is enormous: “I’m not taking that one home.” Following his Roland Garros victory, Alcaraz had a good grass swing as well winning his second Queen’s Club title.
He reached the final of the Wimbledon Championships, where he was aiming for an elusive three-peat and a second surface slam. However, Jannik Sinner avenged the loss of their previous meeting, dethroning Alcaraz in the final to clinch his maiden Grand Slam title outside of hard court.
He and Sinner, along with other top ranked players like Jack Draper and Novak Djokovic have withdrawn from the ongoing Canadian Open in Toronto. Sinner will be looking to defend his Cincinnati Masters title and Alcaraz will also commence his North American hard court swing here.
Further ahead in the season, the Italian will be aiming to become the next person this century after Roger Federer to defend his US Open title. Federer had won the US Open five consecutive times from 2003-2007.
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