For Carlos Alcaraz, the tennis tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris has a very high priority.
If he had to choose, he would rather win Olympic gold this year than the French Open, said the 20-year-old world-class player ahead of his appearance at the ATP tournament in Buenos Aires, according to the Clay portal. “It’s a dream for me to win gold for my country, Spain.”
The Olympic medals are played on the same clay courts as the French Open, which Alcaraz has yet to win. The two-time Grand Slam champion has not yet competed in the Olympic Games
Sinner and Djokovic as rivals
Alcaraz currently sees Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner and world number one Novak Djokovic as his biggest rivals. They have to be beaten, said Alcaraz, who ranks himself and Germany’s top player Alexander Zverev one level lower. In January, Alcaraz was defeated by Zverev in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The current world number two has won two of the four Grand Slams so far, the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023. In Buenos Aires, where German tennis pro Daniel Altmaier failed in the first round on Monday, Alcaraz is once again the favorite as defending champion. On Wednesday, he will face Juan Pablo Varillas (Peru) or Camilo Ugo Carabelli (Argentina) in the second round.
