Rafael Nadal didn't want to overanalyze his performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, admitting that he simply wasn't good enough in single, while in doubles, they played a bad match.
The 38-year-old had high hopes for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris because the Spaniard was encouraged by the way he practiced and the way he played at the Bastad Open ahead of the tournament.
Nobody thought he could seriously challenge for a medal in singles because Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic seemed better than him. Some had hoped that he could be competitive in the doubles with Alcaraz, and after they played a strong opening match, those aspirations certainly grew.
In singles, the 22-time major winner started really well but then experienced some minor issues against Marton Fucsovics, which made it clear that he likely wouldn't be able to beat Novak Djokovic in the second round.
The draw was unfortunate because, with a few more matches in Paris, he might have been able to sneak his way to a medal. Getting Djokovic in the second round was brutal, and the match showed that he clearly wasn't on that top level.
The doubles exit came against a good pairing of Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek, who simply played better than them. After the match, Nadal didn't really want to overanalyze what went wrong for him at the Olympics.
He was quite open about not being good enough in singles, and his doubles performance, at least the quarter-final match, was also not very good, which he also recognized.
"I haven’t been at the level I needed to fight for medals in the singles. In the doubles, we were playing at a very good level, but today we weren’t accurate."
"As I’ve said every day, the matches go by very quickly and every little detail has its impact. Today we didn’t start well and we weren’t able to take the match to the limit."
Overall, Nadal's experience at the Olympics wasn't the worst, but also not the best. He never thought he would play at the 2024 Olympics many years ago, so being there for him was a blessing. He did well, all things considered, and he cherished the experience of playing with Alcaraz.
"The experience has been positive, we generated everything we had to generate to give ourselves a chance, we had a fantastic relationship, we shared a lot off the court and on it we were happy, motivated, excited."
"It couldn’t be, there’s no more to it, today we weren’t accurate. For me, there’s no need to analyse much more, we weren’t good enough. The only thing I have to analyse now is when I have the flight back home (laughs), but I’m taking away an experience and memories for life."
Of course, this was Nadal's final Olympic appearance, and the fact that it was in Paris is certainly a fitting end for a player who left a great legacy at the Games and at Roland Garros.
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