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.”
The excitement in the young Alcaraz’s smile as he sat on the Champ-de-Mars grass with childhood coach Carlos Santos showed what it meant to be there.
There is another snap of the starry-eyed pair on Court Philippe Chatrier during the same 2015 trip.
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.”
