ROLAND GARROS

June 4, 2022

Marcelo Arevalo

Jean-Julien Rojer

Press Conference

AREVALO-ROJER/Dodig-Krajicek

6-7, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: How happy are you right now for winning your first Grand Slam together?

MARCELO AREVALO: I don't think there is words to describe how I feel right now, how we feel as a team. We are extremely happy to win our first Grand Slam title as a team. Jules have a couple already, my first one, and first one as a team.

I always dream about this when I was a kid. My family, my dad used to take us to tournaments as spectators. I saw it so far, honestly I saw this so far. I never thought I could have a chance to be here saying I'm a Grand Slam champion. But as everyone said, like when you work for your dreams, the dreams come true. Now I'm basically living this right now, and I'm super happy.

For all the people that believe in this team, my family, Jules' family, our coach that is here, and all the team back home, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, guys.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Marcelo, congratulations again. I just wondered if you could expand a little bit on what you think this means for tennis in El Salvador, to have a Grand Slam champion for the first time.

MARCELO AREVALO: I don't know. We are gonna figure it out in the next couple days. I really wish, I hope to make a huge impact in a positive way, especially for the kids in El Salvador.

I come from a country that the conditions there are really difficult. A lot of kids, they don't go on the right way. So I want to make those kids believe that if you get into sport, not only in tennis, if you get into sport and you work really hard, you can achieve big things.

So if the people from El Salvador is watching this interview, I want to really encourage them to follow their dreams and fight for them.

Q. Jean-julien, I know you have won Grand Slam titles before, but how does this one compare to your titles in the past?

JEAN-JULIEN ROJER: Obviously they are all very different. They are all different. This is the latest one, you know. So like Tom Brady always says, the sweetest one is the next one.

I felt that this one, this is no disrespect, because I played the other two with Horia Tecau, he's like a brother to me and we did unbelievable things together, but as is Celo in this one, for the way that the week went, sometimes looking grim, we didn't start the tournament off well, we started the tournament getting broken in the first game. The second match we were down set and 4-1 to two very talented French players.

Then so many moments and difficult moments, and then this final, by far -- the other two finals that I played in in Wimbledon we won in three sets, not that it's not difficult, but we won in three sets. And the other one in US Open we won in straight sets. This was, I mean, I thought it was an incredible match.

I don't know what the people think or what -- but the match, it was such an honor and a pleasure to be a part of the match. It's one of those matches that we could have lost, obviously. We were one point away. You can lose that but you have that perspective also when you are playing, Hey, we could have lost. It makes this one a bit sweeter for how you win the tournament, that the last match you overcome so much adversity.

It just makes it sweeter than the other ones because the combination of the thing and the finals and playing 3 -- it's just feeling incredible. It's incredible to fight. You know, I love when things have to be difficult to be done, I love the fight, you know.

I will take the wins also, the other ones, in straight sets, but it's nice to be a set down and to face breakpoints and there is so many moments that we could have folded or caved and we did not.

We fought and it makes it really, really, really sweet. This is one of the best days of my life.