2024 Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz is going to be the third seed at the Paris 2024 Olympics. All eyes will be on the young Spaniard as he will look to pull off a Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in the upcoming days.
If Alcaraz can clinch a gold medal in men’s singles at the Olympics, he will become only the third player to achieve the feat after winning Wimbledon and French Open in the same year. Currently, this has been done only by Rafael Nadal and Steffi Graf.
In 2008, Nadal won both the French Open and Wimbledon titles and then went on to win a gold in men’s singles in the Beijing Olympics, becoming only the second tennis player and first men’s tennis player to do so.
It will be interesting to see if Carlos can replicate what his idol did back in 2008, in Paris and add yet another Olympics gold to Spain’s tally.
Steffi Graff’s Golden Slam in 1988
The legendary women’s tennis player Steffi Graf scripted history back in 1988, when she achieved a Golden Slam by winning all 4 major titles, the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open, and an Olympics gold in the same year. This Graf record has proven untouchable as none of the men’s or women’s players have been able to pull this off.
Signifying how important the German’s achievement is, the ITF posted a video to which former German world number 1 Boris Becker replied, “Important to remember Greatness in these fast times…Steffi won 4 majors plus Olympic Gold in 1988! That’s a record for eternity!!!”
Important to remember Greatness in these fast times…
Steffi won 4 majors plus Olympic Gold in 1988 !
That’s a record for eternity!!! https://t.co/WYt8hUTHUJ— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) July 22, 2024
Although Alcaraz won’t be able to win a Golden Slam due to him losing the Australian Open, he can still try to win both the Olympics and US Open to have 3 grand slam titles along with an Olympics gold in the same year.
If the young Spaniard manages to bring both the Olympics and the US Open home, his name will be etched in history as he’s done something that even Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic couldn’t do, let alone at the age of 21.
