Carlos Alcaraz: The making of a star as first coach reveals secrets to success - EXCLUSIVE

Carlos Alcaraz is the name on every tennis supporters' lips right now. The 19-year-old sensation looks the most likely candidate to finally end the Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer era of domination in the mens game, and his victories at the Miami and Madrid Opens earlier this year show he very much means business.

Alcaraz now has his sights firmly set on glory in Paris at the French Open, and he has already insisted he is more than ready to claim his first Grand Slam title. No doubt watching on with keen interest will be Kiko Navarro, who was Alcaraz's very first coach at the Murcia School of Tennis in the quiet Spanish town of El Palmar.

Speaking exclusively to Express Sport, Kiko - who affectionately calls his former student Carlitos - claims he always knew Alcaraz was destined for greatness. "I am a long-time friend of Carlitos' father, so I watched him grow up," Kiko says. "The first time I saw him with a racket in his hands was at the age of four, when he was playing with his dad, who is also a coach. It was incredible to watch, as he already had a brilliant technique. At such a young age, what he was doing was not normal, trying to take his dad on in a full court match.

"He joined our club at around eight or nine. Initially he played with a few other kids in a small group, but we soon had to take him away for individual classes, because he was just too good for them."

One of the factors which seems to give Alcaraz an advantage over his rivals is his ability to keep a cool head, and you rarely, if ever, see him throw a tantrum or smash his racket on the court like certain others. Kiko, however, recalls that this was not always the case.

"All kids can be characters at times," he laughs. "Even Roger