Carlos Alcaraz experienced a childhood dream of playing alongside his hero Rafael Nadal at the Paris Olympics, and he will never forget it.
Alcaraz had a good Thursday in the men's singles at the Olympics. He reached the medal stage by overcoming America's Tommy Paul, who had caused problems for the French Open champion in their previous meetings.
Unfortunately, on Wednesday, Alcaraz and Nadal were eliminated from the men's doubles quarterfinals. They lost in straight sets to the Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram. In truth, the Spaniards were comfortably beaten.
That came as a significant disappointment to the fans at Roland-Garros, who had given the high-profile pair vocal backing throughout their matches. Many expected them to win the medal due to the star quality of their partnership.
However, Nadal is not the player he once was, and playing doubles can only partially hide that. Also, Alcaraz does not have much experience playing doubles, giving established doubles pairs an advantage.
After their defeat, Nadal said he and Nadal could have experienced many beautiful moments together if he had been ten years younger. The 22-time Grand Slam champion is nearing the end of his career, meaning their doubles partnership is as close as they will ever get.
Despite their exit, being around someone like Nadal is still a fantastic experience and will help Alcaraz going forward. He outlined how amazing it was to play on the same side of the court as Nadal and pick up tips from him.
"Well it was an unbelievable experience for me. Something I'll never forget, for sure, playing on the same side of the net as Rafa and learning from him. It has been great for me."
"I enjoyed it and I tried to enjoy every single second that we played together. I think we've played great points, great rallies, great matches. But I'm a little bit disappointed right now."
Although Nadal is not at his physical and technical prime anymore, his understanding of the game after so many years at the top of men's tennis is undoubtedly one of the best in the sport's history. Alcaraz is wise to try to learn from him.
The four-time Grand Slam champion did not just gain valuable experience on the court. He also discussed the time spent talking with his legendary compatriot about life and said he would keep those conversations to himself.
"I mean we had the chance to spend time together outside the court here in this tournament. We could spend more time and talk so much about life. That's what I'm gonna keep for me. Yeah we're gonna keep this relationship. I think it grew a lot. I learned a lot from him."
It is heartening that Alcaraz's experience with Nadal was still memorable despite their elimination in the quarterfinal. Fans were privileged to watch the pair in action together in front of huge crowds.
Alcaraz is now fully focused on trying to win a singles medal, while Nadal's future in the sport is uncertain.
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