Alcaraz sings to French Open fans after winning a second-round match at Roland-Garros
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PARIS (AP) — After winning his second-round match Wednesday at the French Open, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz finally got to do something he always wanted: sing to the fans at Roland-Garros.
Alcaraz had beaten Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, and just completed a brief interview with Mats Wilander on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
So the fans thought that was it, but Alcaraz was not done.
“One thing, one thing. I always wanted to do that. I hope everyone follow me," the 22-year-old Spaniard said.
Then, leaning into the microphone, he sang the familiar-sounding refrain often belted out by crowds at Roland-Garros.
Perhaps fittingly, it is to the tune of a Spanish paso doble. It goes “ Po-po-po-po-po-po po-lolo ” — as the French write it — and is always followed by a pause and then an “Olé.”
A smiling Alcaraz let the crowd do the “Olé" part, then slapped hands with Wilander before they walked off the clay court to loud applause.
Alcaraz later said he’d been thinking about doing that song after an interview last year here, but it never happened.
Alcaraz need not have been so shy, for he showed no stage fright and sang clearly.
His game on red clay is very much in-tune, too, with the four-time Grand Slam champion winning 29 of his past 31 matches on the surface.
One of the losses was against Novak Djokovic in the gold-medal match at last summer's Paris Olympics and held at the same site as the French Open.
“I just love it here and had some really great moments,” Alcaraz said. “I hope people when they left the court, they left with a smile.”
Alcaraz faces unseeded Damir Dzumhur in the third round.
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