Paris by Night: Alcaraz wins, sings and soaks up the applause at Roland-Garros

Dubai: Carlos Alcaraz might have been missing his usual swing rhythm, but he found his voice.

The defending French Open champion laboured to a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday. And then, in front of a packed crowd, the 22-year-old dropped his racquet, picked up the microphone, and finally did something he’d been wanting to for a while — he sang.

After a quick courtside chat with Mats Wilander, Alcaraz stopped just as he was about to leave.

“One thing, one thing. I always wanted to do that. I hope everyone follow me,” he said, smiling.

Then, leaning into the mic, the Spaniard sang the popular chant that echoes across Roland-Garros every year — a rhythmic “Po-po-po-po-po-po po-lolo”, usually followed by a crowd-wide “Olé!”

Alcaraz let the fans deliver the final “Olé”, then slapped hands with Wilander and walked off to loud applause.

He later revealed he had considered doing the song after a win last year, but never quite pulled the trigger. “I just love it here and had some really great moments,” he said. “I hope people when they left the court, they left with a smile.”

He needn’t have worried — he hit all the right notes.

Alcaraz may have hit a few flat notes in his second-round performance, but his clay-court form still strikes the right chord. He’s now won 29 of his past 31 matches on the surface, the only recent blemishes coming against Novak Djokovic — including last year’s Olympic final, also played at Roland-Garros.

Next up for the four-time Grand Slam champion is unseeded Damir Dzumhur in the third round.

— With inputs from AP