Carlos Alcaraz grew up idolizing his legendary compatriot, Rafael Nadal, and he admitted that playing doubles with him at next year's Olympics would be a dream come true.
Alcaraz is preparing to compete at the 2023 French Open, which begins tomorrow. Despite being just 20- years old, some consider him the favorite for the clay-court Grand Slam.
Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic could meet in the semifinal at Roland-Garros. Both men would have to win tough matches to make that matchup a reality, but it would be a blockbuster contest.
While this year's French Open promises to be a great event, it feels strange for Nadal, the 14-time champion in Paris, not to be competing at the tournament he has dominated since his first title in 2005.
It seems unlikely that Nadal will be able to return before the end of the 2023 season, and Alcaraz said that, as a tennis fan, he is sad not to have the former world No. 1 competing at the biggest tournaments.
"When I hear that, for me, it was tough, you know, to understand how it's gonna be, you know, without Rafa this year. Hopefully to see him next year that he's 100%, hopefully."
Despite Nadal's current physical issues, Alcaraz still dreams of playing doubles with him at next year's Olympics. If that happens, they would be one of the most high-profile doubles teams ever.
"For me, it could be a dream playing doubles with him, you know, in the Olympics. So of course let's see. Let's see how he's doing and how he's going, you know, in this year. Hopefully, you know, he's going great. But yeah, for me it could be a dream to play doubles with him."
Nadal's first step is to get healthy again, which seems like it will take a significant amount of time.