Carlos Alcaraz: 'No reason to lose trademark smile', plans on 15 more years at the top of men's tennis
By Conor Keenan
Published 11/06/2024 at 14:52 GMT+1
Having captured the first French Open title of his career, Carlos Alcaraz will arrive at Wimbledon in July with the goal of his first successful defence of a grand slam title. The 21-year-old three-time major champion is targeting 15 years of dominance at the top of the game, but doesn't plan on losing his 'trademark' smile while doing so.
French Open highlights - Alcaraz wins first Roland-Garros title after Zverev epic
Video credit: TNT Sports
Newly-crowned French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz is targeting 15 years at the top of the sport.
The 21-year-old, who won his third grand slam title by beating Alexander Zverev at Roland-Garros, believes there is "no reason" for him to lose his "trademark" smile as he aims to reach the summit of men's tennis.
"This smile, which they say is my trademark, there is no reason to lose it." said Alcaraz.
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"Why not take advantage of everything that is offered to us through this profession? There is no reason why I wouldn't feel comfortable on the circuit. So for me, another 15 years like this suits me very well."
Alcaraz leapfrogged 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic into No. 2 in the ATP world rankings following his win on the clay courts of Paris.
Italian Jannik Sinner became the new world No. 1 after the French Open, despite falling to Alcaraz in a five-set thriller in the semi-finals.
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Alcaraz will no doubt be targeting the No .1 spot with two majors remaining in 2024 - Wimbledon and the US Open.
Despite finding so much success so early in his career, Alcaraz stated he has already had to overcome adversity after failing to win a tournament between Wimbledon in 2023 and Indian Wells in 2024.
The Spaniard points to his victory at Indian Wells as an important moment in his career as he looks to follow in the footsteps of the 'big three' - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and compatriot Rafael Nadal.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
"Indian Wells was a key moment, yes. There, everything went well on and off the court. We laughed a lot with my team during these two weeks, with this ability to disconnect from the tournament.
"It helped me enormously to regain my feelings, to get closer to my 100%. Truly very precious moments."
Having impressively captured his first three grand slams on hard court, grass and clay, Alcaraz will look to tick off another box in his fledgling career - his first defence of a major title. He has the chance to do just that at Wimbledon in July.
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