Jean-Paul Loth: "Alcaraz, this little guy who plays better than anyone else has ever played".
Jean-Paul Loth commented on his last tennis match on television on Sunday, during the final of the Paris Olympic Games. At the age of 85, the Frenchman thus brings to a close a busy professional life.
Starting out as a tennis player (he played in the 1st round of the French Open in doubles, and the final qualifying round in singles), he went on to become federal trainer of juniors at the French Tennis Federation (1968-1977), then National Technical Director (1977-1989) and Davis Cup captain (1980-1987). At the same time, he was a sports commentator for TF1 (1981-1988), France Télévions (1988, 2004) and Eurosport (2013-2024). Over the years, he has become not only a recognized and respected expert, but also one of the "voices of tennis" in France.
He had set himself the goal of finishing his career at the age of 85, and he is delighted to have been able to finish by commenting on the Olympic Games, which he considers to be the most important tennis tournament. He is also delighted to have been able to witness the advent of the man he considers to play tennis "better than anyone has ever played", ahead of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: Carlos Alcaraz. This is what he explained to L'Equipe.
Jean-Paul Loth: "It's nice to be able to conclude on the biggest sporting event in the world. Nothing beats the Olympics in terms of universality! Even if some tennis pundits suggest that the Grand Slams are above them.
And there's another reason. People have been so puffed up that after the Fantastic Four - Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray - tennis would have a terrible time of it...
Well, in a year and a half, it has recovered thanks to the arrival of this little guy (Carlos Alcaraz), who has already settled everyone's score. I don't care whether he wins 15, 20 or 40 Grand Slams. I've experienced the advent of a player who plays better than anyone has ever played."
Pékin 
