“It Would Be Good Motivation”

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday September 20, 2023

Imagine Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal sharing the doubles court on the terre battue of Paris, with an Olympic medal hanging in the balance. Fans are already salivating over the possibility after Nadal spoke about the potential pairing in an interview with the Spanish website As.com.

Nadal is most definitely targeting one last shot at Olympic glory.

“As for the Games, on a personal level, I would like to play them one more time,” Nadal said. “Everyone knows that I have always been a lover of [the Olympic] Games. I have lived incredible moments, of seeing what sport is in its pure essence.”

Nadal says he has not talked to Alcaraz about pairing with him, but he is warming up to the idea nevertheless.

For the record, Alcaraz has already said that playing doubles with Nadal “would be a dream,” so it’s pretty clear that the two-time Slam champion would be on board.

“Regarding the fact of playing doubles with Carlos, I have not had the slightest conversation with him in that regard,” Nadal said, before adding: “But I would also like and it would be a good motivation, another incentive for me to be able to close my Olympic cycle playing with Carlos, with everything he is achieving, with the young people and with the great future he has ahead of him.”

Nadal on Alcaraz: He Is a Step Above Everyone Else

Nadal had high praise for his 20-year-old compatriot, as he reflected on Alcaraz’s Wimbledon triumph and his overall mind-blowing level.

“Although he is very young, right now, practically, the only rival I see for him is Djokovic,” Nadal said. “He is a step above everyone else. My feeling from outside the circuit is that when he plays, the games normally depend on him 90 percent of the days.

“In that sense, I think that what happened at Wimbledon does not surprise me, and that it is not surprising, it means how good Carlos is and the level he holds. The reality is that it is fantastic news for sport and for tennis to have someone like him, who is doing what he is doing and, on top of that, with so much time ahead of him.”