At the French Open, only one trophy but so many triumphs

Sport isn’t fair, this is the plain truth, this is the deal athletes accept. Not everyone makes it, not everyone’s haircut like Carlos Alcaraz’s makes the news, not everyone’s bank balance swells like Novak Djokovic’s US$187,086,939 (S$241,500,000), not everyone gets on centre court.

Players shrug, it’s OK, but what everyone desires is a chance. That’s all. To be somebody. To get a shot. To be one of 128 in the French Open draw. This is harder than you think. The clay in Paris, 80 tonnes of it, comes from a single brick factory, but talent comes from everywhere and feels as omnipresent as the dust.