Carlos Alcaraz opened up on the biggest lessons he learned from Rafael Nadal at the Olympic Games.
One of the greatest moments of the 2024 tennis season was seeing Spain’s two greatest players team up to go for gold at Paris Olympics this summer.
Seeing two generations combine to play doubles in one of the sport’s biggest tournaments is a sight rarely seen in the game and fans enjoyed every second Alcaraz and Nadal were on court together.
They came up short in their quest to win a medal, but playing alongside the 22-time Grand Slam champion is an experience that will live long in Alcaraz’s memory.
What did Carlos Alcaraz take from playing with Rafael Nadal at the Olympic Games?
On multiple occasions Carlos Alcaraz has spoken about how much he looked up to Rafael Nadal and was inspired by his outstanding achievements in tennis.
Since becoming a tennis player himself, Alcaraz has recorded some impressive accomplishments of his own, and it was a dream come true for Alcaraz to play doubles with Nadal at the Paris Games.
During an interview with Tennis Warehouse, Alcaraz outlined what stood out to him about Nadal from their time playing together.
“In the Olympic Games it was a dream come true for me, learning from him on the same side of the net, it was like a master class for me and my career so yeah I enjoyed it a lot and it was a great moment,” the World number three said.
“He taught me the things that I have to do when things are not going well, the attitude that you have to put into every match in every difficult moment and how to read the opponent.
“I have to think positive and always keep trying. For those things Rafa for me is the best and I learned a lot from playing doubles with him.”
How did Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal do at the Olympic Games?
Alcaraz and Nadal began their Olympic doubles campaign by facing Argentina’s Andrés Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez. The Spaniards sealed a 7-6(4), 6-4 win.
The dream doubles pair took on Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof from the Netherlands in the second round. They were pushed to a match tiebreak but ultimately recorded a 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-2 win.
They set up a quarter-final clash against America’s experienced doubles pair of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
Alcaraz and Nadal fought hard and the crowd roared them on, but they ultimately suffered a 2-6, 4-6 loss which brought the end to their Olympics campaign.
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