Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz to team up at Olympics

Madrid, June 12

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will play doubles together for Spain at the upcoming Paris Olympics, the Spanish tennis federation said today.

The announcement comes three days after the 21-year-old Alcaraz won the French Open for the first time — earning his third Grand Slam trophy.

The same courts used for the French Open each year will host Olympics tennis. Nadal has won the French Open a record 14 times.

Alcaraz, who will play in his first Olympics, is widely seen as the heir to Nadal in Spanish tennis, and has frequently remarked that Nadal was his childhood hero. “Rafa and Carlos will be playing together in Paris,” said Spain captain David Ferrer while announcing the squad.

Alcaraz has set winning an Olympics medal for Spain as one of his top career goals. He said after winning at Roland Garros that this year he would prefer a gold medal at Paris over defending his Wimbledon title. The other Spain players in the men’s team will be Pablo Carreno Busta, Alejandro Davidovich and Marcel Granollers. — AP