In the lead-up to his first French Open final, a photo reappeared of a 12-year-old Carlos Alcaraz sat in front of the Eiffel Tower watching the tournament on a big screen.
Now Alcaraz plans to have a tattoo of the iconic landmark as a permanent reminder of winning the tournament he loved as a child.
The 21-year-old Spaniard claimed the Grand Slam title many thought he was destined to lift with a five-set victory over Germany’s Alexander Zverev on Sunday.
“It will be on the left ankle – the Eiffel Tower and today’s date,” Alcaraz said.
“I have to find time but I will do it for sure.”
Alcaraz grew up playing on clay courts and used to run home from school to watch Roland Garros.
“Winning a Grand Slam is always special, but here in Roland Garros, knowing all the Spanish players who have won here, to put my name on that list is unbelievable,” Alcaraz said.
“I dreamt to be in this position since I started playing tennis and I was five or six years old.”
Last year, Alcaraz was hampered by nerves in the semi-finals because he was overawed by his opponent – the incomparable Novak Djokovic.
He had to overcome them again this year against incoming world number one Jannik Sinner in the last four.
In the title match with Zverev, he looked edgy and unconvincing.
But Alcaraz demonstrated ‘cabeza, corazon, cojones’ – the advice famously given by his grandad to show head, heart and courage in difficult moments and the inspiration for a tattoo on his wrist – to come through.
“The interesting thing is we all thought he would win the French Open as his first major,” former British number one Greg Rusedski told BBC Sport.
“Last year against Djokovic he got super tight, cramping and got nervous. It happened against Sinner as well.
“It felt like his destiny to win this event and now he’s found a way to win it, the sky is the limit.”
