By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Could this be a possibility?
Imagine Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest player in the history of lawn tennis to win Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (clay, grass, hard court), teaming up with the king of Roland Garros, the living legend, Rafael Nadal.
Minutes after winning the French Open on June 9, 2024, Alcaraz quickly turned his focus to the upcoming Paris Olympics where he will be representing the Spanish national lawn tennis team.
Midway through his interview, the 21-year-old tennis ace didn’t hold back and announced that he would love to team up with Nadal in the Olympics.
“To fight to be an Olympic champion and to bring a medal to my country, to play doubles in the Games with Rafa Nadal. Well, these are things that I won’t believe until I experience the moment,” said Alcaraz.
Despite dropping his opening game in his pet surface against this year’s finalist, Alexander Zverev, Nadal still kept his heads up and shut down retirement rumors.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion is still open to finishing his 2024 playing calendar including the upcoming Wimbledon but talks of an Olympic comeback are yet to be confirmed.
Last 2008 edition of the Olympics, Nadal brought pride to Spain after clinching the men’s singles title while following it up with another gold in 2016 together with his doubles partner Marc Lopez.
Meanwhile, the young and energetic Alcaraz is still looking for his first major achievement in the Olympics and will be making his debut in the seniors division.
“It can be a very nice tournament, my first Olympic Games, 40 days after winning my first Roland Garros. I think it’s going to be a very special tournament for me. I’m really looking forward to it,” added Alcaraz.
However, things won’t be easy for Alcaraz as Zverev, the defending champion in the Olympics, will be looking to avenge his loss in their French Open finals duel when they meet again in Paris.
Also representing their respective nations in the upcoming Olympics are Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Jannik Sinner of Italy, Alex de Minaur of Australia, and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
