Ferrero, a satisfied coach: "I'm super happy".
It's the tennis event of the moment. Carlos Alcaraz triumphed at Roland Garros for the first time in his career. After two difficult five-set victories, the Spaniard was crowned champion on Sunday.
Although he had to work hard, coming from two sets down in the semi-finals (against Sinner, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3) and then in the final (against Zverev, 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2), Alcaraz is now a Grand Slam champion for the third time in his life, at just 21 years of age.
Speaking to L'Équipe, his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero made no secret of his delight. And with good reason, as their hard work continues to bear fruit.
As he explained: "This is a tournament where Carlos has really stepped up his game. In the last two matches, he had to play his best tennis. Against Sinner, he had finished very tired physically, but he recovered well.
We knew it was going to be another long match (against Zverev). There were a few too many ups and downs, and Carlos needs more stability to conclude matches earlier. But I'm super happy, because he showed his maturity by finding those solutions that only he can find."
Asked about his protégé's physical problems, he was honest, giving full credit to his player: "We were a little worried, but he waved to us to say everything was fine. We could see that he was having a bit of trouble moving forward, but at the back of the court he was fine.
Another problem he managed to deal with. We'll just have to make sure this kind of problem doesn't recur too often."
Fact checking please - Alcaraz did not come back from two sets down in the semifinal or final. He was down one set only.