The ex-top ranked player shared what he discovered while playing doubles with Rafael Nadal at the Paris Olympic Games.

Carlos Alcaraz won his first Olympic medal just two weeks ago, but he won’t be flaunting his silver medal at the Cincinnati Open. He mentioned during his Media Day press conference that the medal is at home, along with his Wimbledon and Roland Garros trophies.

Alcaraz had a successful summer, winning major titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.He celebrated his first three Slam victories with tattoos. Will he get a tattoo inspired by his second-place finish in men’s singles? “No, I didn’t get the gold! ” Alcaraz laughed. “If I had won the gold medal, I would have gotten a tattoo.”

The four-time Grand Slam champion felt emotional after coming so close to winning gold in Paris, losing a tough final to Novak Djokovic. However, Alcaraz remained optimistic as he prepared to return to action in Cincy, where he had also faced Djokovic in a challenging final in 2023.

“I always strive to improve and believe I can do better,” he reflected. “I had a great summer. although I was aiming for the gold medal. After every match, win or lose, I like to identify my mistakes and work on them to perform better in the next match. In Paris, I realized that I didn’t handle the situation as well as I wanted to, and that’s what I plan to focus on moving forward.”

“No one can predict what will happen in the future, if I will make it to the final again.
Just like Rafael Nadal won the gold medal in 2008 but couldn’t reach the final in the Olympic Games again. I might get another opportunity in the future, but I’m not certain about it.”

One positive outcome from Paris was his experience playing doubles with Rafael Nadal. They teamed up for the first time and reached the quarterfinals. Although they didn’t make it to the medal rounds, Alcaraz gained valuable knowledge from playing with his childhood idol.

Alcaraz expressed, “It was an amazing experience to interact with Rafa both on and off the court. Playing doubles together was unforgettable. I learned a lot from him, both during matches and in our conversations.
Despite not being accustomed to playing doubles regularly, we performed well. It was a bit disappointing that we didn’t achieve more, but personally, it was a dream come true for me to play alongside Rafa.”

“Whenever we were feeling low, he always had a positive attitude and encouraged me by saying, ‘At this moment, they will feel the pressure, and we need to keep pushing to make things difficult for them.

There are some situations that may be hard to see, but he sees them clearly. ‘ Alcaraz is ranked as the No.2 seed in Cincinnati and will start his match against either Gaël Monfils or the in-form Alexei Popyrin, who is currently competing in the semifinals of the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montréal.”