The Olympic tennis tournament will start on Saturday, July 27th on the red clay of the French Open and will end on Sunday, August 4th. Despite missing 14 Top 50, we announce a spectacular tournament and full of emotions. The big favorite for the gold medal is certainly Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships in the last month and a half.
The four-time Grand Slam champion will be able to play on his favourite surface and has already arrived in Paris to get settled. The 21-year-old from Murcia will also play doubles alongside 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. The Spanish legend is at its last appearance at the Olympics, where it won the gold medal in singles (Beijing 2008) and doubles (Rio 2016). Despite being far from the best condition, no player would want to face Rafa in the early rounds on red clay.
Behind Carlitos, there are Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic. The world number 1 had to postpone his departure for Paris due to the fever, but his participation is not at risk. The Italian is playing the best tennis of his career and has already won four titles this year (including the Australian Open and the Miami Masters 1000).
Nole – on the other hand – has always dreamed of winning the gold medal for his country. The Serbian – who will not be staying in the Olympic village – has not yet won a title in 2024 and was clearly defeated by Alcaraz in the final of the Wimbledon Championships.
Murray and Alcaraz together
The Olympic tournament will also be the last event of Andy Murray’s career. The three-time Grand Slam champion has announced that he will retire after the Paris Olympics. The Scotsman gave his all to get back to the top, but a recent back injury convinced him to retire. Meanwhile, Murray and Alcaraz took a beautiful photo together in the Olympic village.
Andy Murray, hace unos meses: “Ver jugar a Alcaraz me hace sonreír”.
Andy Murray, hoy: pic.twitter.com/VLrlufBnho
— Manuel Sánchez (@ManuSanchezGom) July 24, 2024
Carlitos will have a chance to win a medal in both singles and doubles. The young Spaniard confessed that he wants to become one of the best ever: “At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys. That’s my main goal. That’s my dream right now. It doesn’t matter if I already won four Grand Slams at the age of 21. If I (don’t) keep going, it doesn’t matter. I don’t know what my limit is. I don’t want to think about it. I just want to keep enjoying my moment, to just keep dreaming. So, let’s see if, at the end of my career, it’s going to be 25, 30, 15 or four. I don’t know.”
The Olympics are about to start
Alcaraz dreams of dragging his illustrious compatriot Nadal to another medal. Recently, Rafa admitted that he is not yet at his best and that he does not have clear ideas about his future. “There are chances that it may only be half a year, there are possibilities it may be a full year, that we may not be able to reach all that. These are things right now I do not have the capacity to be able to answer. This is the truth” – the 22-time Grand Slam champion stated. “If I keep enjoying doing what I am doing and I feel myself competitive and healthy enough to enjoy, I want to keep going for a while. I don’t know for how long, but I am having fun. I need to give myself a little bit longer chance to see if my level is growing and my body is holding, and then let’s make a decision. Give me two months until the Olympics, and then let’s see if I am able to keep going or I say, ‘okay guys, it’s more than enough’. Let’s see” – he added.
Determining who is the absolute GOAT in tennis is the discussion that has most divided fans and enthusiasts throughout history, especially in the last two decades with the almost undisputed dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Big 3 made history and brought a lot of people closer to tennis. Federer has always been the most beloved player, while Nadal and Djokovic have broken his records. Their rivalry created amazing matches that have entered tennis history, in the hope that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz can do the same.
The Italian and the Spanish champion have already achieved great results and their matches are very popular and appreciated all over the world. Carlitos has a superior palmarés at the moment, but Jannik has made a big leap in quality over the last nine months.