Carlos Alcaraz, overcome with emotion and unable to control his tears, required some time to gather himself following his defeat against Novak Djokovic in the men’s tennis singles final at the Olympics in Paris on Sunday.
Neither the youngest-ever champion nor the recurrence of Rafael Nadal’s historic first-ever singles gold medal triumph for Spain would occur.
After losing to Djokovic 7-6(3), 7-6(2) at Court Philippe Chatrier, Alcaraz accepted silver, claiming that the pressure of representing his nation affected him.
“I think I put more pressure on myself because I was playing for Spain, for the Spaniards,” Alcaraz stated. “I felt that I let the Spanish people down by not winning the gold.”
The 21-yearold Alcaraz claimed he has never experienced such pressure in any of his four Grand Slam final appearances, which he has won. Alcaraz stated, “It was a different kind of pressure.” “Everyone in Spain wanted me to win the gold, and I wanted to win the gold as well.” He said that the increased pressure hurt him, particularly during the game’s pivotal moments. “In those difficult moments I usually raise my level, but I wasn’t able to do that today,” Alcaraz stated. “I think I was under pressure under such circumstances. The Olympics only occur once every four years, but you play four Grand Slams year.” After “realizing that,” he said there was still cause for him to feel proud.
He claimed that even after “realizing that I gave everything,” he still had cause for pride.
“Obviously this week, this tournament has been really special for me,” Alcaraz stated. “I will undoubtedly continue to take it for the remainder of my life and career. It’s been a fantastic experience to play alongside Rafa and win my first Olympic gold, hopefully not the last.”
He traveled to Paris amidst the excitement of competing in the doubles match with his childhood hero, Rafael Nadal, who took home the gold in singles during his 2008 Beijing Olympics debut.
In last week’s quarterfinals, Alcaraz and Nadal fell to the fourth-seeded American team of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-2, 6-4.
Rematching the previous two Wimbledon finals—which Alcaraz won both times, including last month—was the matchup versus Djokovic.
“In the close moments, in the difficult situations, in the tiebreakers, he played an impressive game,” Alcaraz remarked of the Serbian player. He was desperate to win the gold medal. He intended to pursue it.”