Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are at opposite ends of the spectrum of a tennis player’s career. While Nadal is struggling with injury, Alcaraz is just 20 years old and possesses the energy of a stallion, which allows him to compete in a lot of tournaments.
The pair have played three times overall in tennis matches, with Nadal leading Alcaraz 2-1. A much-expected team-up between the two at the Davis Cup was for naught, as Nadal failed to recover. Nevertheless, the wish for fans and players alike is to see the two play together.
Carlos Alcaraz aims to team up with Rafael Nadal
The Olympics has long been a high point in a tennis player’s career. Winning the four grand slams and obtaining an Olympic gold medal is rare and only Stefi Graff has achieved this Golden Grand Slam.
Next year’s Olympics will be a short train ride for Alcaraz and co. as they head to Paris from Spain. Shedding light on his ambitions and aspirations ahead of the mega-event, Carlos Alcaraz talked about sharing the tennis court with his idol, Rafael Nadal.
“It would obviously be a dream for me to play doubles with him in Paris. It depends on both of us. There are many months left until Paris, many things can happen.”, he said.
A Rafa-Carlito union would send shockwaves down the spines of opponents in Paris, and it yet to be seen if Rafael Nadal will join hands with the Wimbledon champion.
Generally, scheduling conflicts and fatigue do not allow for the participation of many of the top tennis athletes in the Olympics. Only a handful of the top ten take part and Alcaraz’s presence will surely hype up the tournament’s star value and bring in scores of French fans to the stadium, including those who have longed to watch their favourite players play and do not get a chance to catch the costlier Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal’s record at the Olympics
Rafael Nadal first stepped onto the Olympic stage in Athens in 2004. He played doubles and lost early in the tournament. He was still a youngster then and struggled initially.
By the time the Beijing 2008 Olympics came, he was far more mature and skilled and thus was able to secure a gold for Spain in men’s singles and a 9th place finish in doubles.
It was post-Beijing that Nadal really sprung onto the tennis stage as a superstar with repeated wins at Roland Garros and other slams and thus produced an even better result in Rio 2016, where he claimed a doubles gold medal and a fourth-place finish in men’s singles.
He didn’t participate in Tokyo 2020, but with Alcaraz as a companion, he could very well be looking at ending his career with a medal in Paris.
The union of Alcaraz and Nadal is an exciting prospect. How much are you looking forward to that? Let us know in the comments section below.
