Murray's last hurrah, Nadal and Alcaraz dream team and Swiatek the big favourite at Paris Olympics

By Sports Desk July 25, 2024

Every four years, players across the ATP and WTA Tours get another shot at major glory.

And with three grand slams already down in 2024, the Paris Olympics provides that extra shot in the arm as players across the board gun for gold.

The big names are descending on Roland-Garros for a second time this season, with the famous venue of the French Open playing host to the Olympic tennis tournament.

Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal, two dominant forces on the Parisian clay, will be in action, while Andy Murray, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, is making his final appearance before retirement.

Novak Djokovic is also set to feature, while Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff will play at their first Olympics, though Jannik Sinner, the men's world number one, has had to withdraw due to illness.

Here, we outline the main storylines ahead of the tournament starting on Saturday.

Murray's last hurrah

This will be it for Murray. The three-time grand slam champion, and former world number one, is finally bowing out.

The 37-year-old, who won gold in the men's singles at London 2012 and Rio 2016, as well as claiming silver in the mixed doubles at the first of those Games, confirmed his impending retirement on Tuesday.

Murray is the only man with multiple singles gold medals since tennis returned to the Olympic program in 1988. He will become the first British athlete to appear in four singles draws at the Games, too.

He is one of just eight players in the Open Era to have won 200 or more matches at majors, while only Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer have won more ATP 1000 matches than Murray since the format's introduction in 1990.

The Scot will bow out as the British player with the most singles titles on the ATP Tour in the Open Era (46).

The Dream Team

There are so many stars for fans in Paris to take in, but arguably the main attraction will be the doubles dream team of Nadal and his heir apparent Alcaraz, who are pairing up to represent Spain.

This team counts the record champion at Roland-Garros (14) in Nadal, and the reigning champion in Alcaraz.

While four-time major champion Alcaraz is featuring at his first Olympics, Nadal is a veteran campaigner at the Games, having scooped gold in the singles at Beijing 2008 and in the doubles in Rio eight years ago.

Nadal is one of two players to secure an Olympic gold in both the men's singles and doubles since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988, alongside Nicolas Massu (both at Athens 2004).

 

Like Murray, Nadal is set to bow out in the coming months, and what better way to go than winning gold with the player who could well go on to match his feats?

Nadal's great rival Djokovic, meanwhile, will surely also be playing at his final Games.

Djokovic will become the player with the joint-most appearances in men's singles at the Olympics (five, equalling Yen Hsun Lu) since the sport returned to the Games 36 years ago.

The Serbian is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.

Swiatek's Roland-Garros return

Women's world number one Swiatek loves Roland-Garros just as much as Nadal does.

Four of the 23-year-old's five grand slam titles have come at the venue, including her success earlier this year. In fact, Swiatek has won four of the past five French Open titles.

Swiatek lost in the second round in Tokyo, but given her dominance in Paris in recent years, she has to be considered the favourite in the women's draw.

Indeed, only Margaret Court (95.2%) has a higher winning percentage at Roland-Garros than Swiatek (94.6%) in the Open Era.

 

That being said, the incumbent world number one has won gold at the Olympics only twice: Steffi Graf in 1988 and Justine Henin in 2004.

Aryna Sabalenka rivalled Swiatek throughout this season's clay-court swing. The Belarusian, who will be competing under a neutral banner, lost in the second round in Tokyo three years ago. 

Gauff flying the flag

There was heartbreak for Gauff three years ago, as she missed out on what would have been her maiden Games after testing positive for COVID-19.

All being well, that won't be an issue this time around, and the 20-year-old will have the honour of bearing the United States flag at Friday's opening ceremony. She will be the first tennis player to fly the flag for Team USA.

Gauff, the world number two, has reached the quarters, the final, the quarters again and the semi-finals in her last four appearances at the French Open - will she finally break her Roland-Garros duck?

If she does, then Gauff will join Graf (1988), Jennifer Capriati (1992), Lindsay Davenport (1996) and Venus Williams (2000) as the women to win Olympic gold before turning 21.

Former world number one Naomi Osaka, who lit the torch in Tokyo, should not be discounted either.

She is looking to become the second Japanese player to secure an Olympic medal since tennis' return to the Games, after Kei Nishikori's bronze in Rio.

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    Alcaraz emerged a 6-3 7-6 (10-8) victor against the Russian in his second match of the tournament, keeping his hopes of advancing to the next round in Turin alive. 

    The Spaniard fell to defeat in his opening game against Casper Ruud, citing a stomach issue that left him feeling unwell before and during that match. 

    But the world number three looked back to his brilliant best against Rublev, claiming the first set in 37 minutes before edging a thrilling tie-break in the second.

    "Yes, I surprised myself a lot," Alcaraz said shortly after the victory. 

    "The way I played today from the baseline, I was really calm and tried to just focus on my game and what I had to do - forget that I'm not really feeling well.

    "Once you step on the court, you have to forget everything you're struggling with outside the court."

    Alcaraz, though, said he was still not feeling 100% ahead of facing Alexander Zverev, who is in action against Ruud later on Tuesday. 

    It will be the pair's first meeting since the Spaniard's triumph in the French Open final in June, but Zverev has not let that defeat ruin a fine season. 

    His own opening win over Rublev was his ATP Tour-leading 67th win of the campaign, with only Jannik Sinner matching the German for victories this year. 

    "I could be better, healthier. I'm just trying to step on the court and play good tennis, try not to think about my issues right now," Alcaraz said.

    "I've been struggling the last week and that's going to be the case over the next day too, for sure.

    "Zverev is playing great tennis. He is one of the toughest players in the world right now, that's for sure.

    "I will try to play good tennis and enjoy the same way I did today. Then let's see."

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    Alcaraz had complained about feeling unwell in his defeat to Casper Ruud, but returned to winning ways with a 6-3 7-6 (10-8) victory in 96 minutes against his Russian opponent. 

    The Spaniard, sporting a pink nasal strip to aid his breathing, exchanged blows with Rublev early on but was able to take control of the encounter after the fifth game.

    Alcaraz reeled off four consecutive games from 3-2 down to seal the opening set, closing in on a second consecutive win against Rublev at the year-end tournament in Turin. 

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    The four-time grand slam champion later kept his cool in the second-set tie-break, saving two set points before closing out the win to kickstart his campaign. 

    Alcaraz now sits at the top of the John Newcombe Group ahead of Alexander Zverev's meeting with Ruud later on Tuesday, with the German up next for the world number three.

    Data Debrief: Winning the best medicine 

    After a rocky start to his ATP Finals campaign, Alcaraz's latest showing confirmed that, despite not feeling at his best, he can still pose a threat at the tournament. 

    The Spaniard struck 31 winners compared to Rublev's 14, but did match his opponent for unforced errors during the contest (20 each). 

    But it was another victory on a favoured surface for the world number three. Since the ATP rankings were first published in 1973, Alcaraz (21 years and 192 days) is the second-youngest player to claim 20 top-10 wins on hard courts, older only than Lleyton Hewitt.

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    Joseph highlighted the significance of Alfred’s accomplishment, noting her meteoric rise from a small island with a population of under 150,000. “For the very first time in decades, a Caribbean athlete, not from any of the larger islands, and with a population of less than 150,000, is among the finalists. We are here referring to St Lucia’s track and field gem, Julien Alfred… who has literally stormed into the sporting history of her native land,” he stated.

    Joseph traced Alfred’s journey from her early promise in athletics to her dominance at the CARIFTA Games, the NCAA Division 1, the World Athletics Indoor Championships, and the Central American and Caribbean Games, describing her victory in Paris as a “feat of pure beauty, grace, incredible confidence, and impeccable timing.”

    Reflecting on the history of Caribbean success in track and field, Joseph drew parallels to other trailblazing athletes from the region. He recalled Arthur Wint’s first Olympic gold for Jamaica in 1948, Hasely Crawford’s 1976 win for Trinidad and Tobago, and this year’s historic achievements with the national anthems of Dominica and St Lucia being played for the first time at the Olympics. “In Paris, two of our region’s smallest islands – Dominica and St Lucia - had their anthems played for the first time at the Olympic Games. It was track and field athletics yet again,” Joseph said.

    Joseph also acknowledged the achievements of other Caribbean athletes across various disciplines, especially those who have overcome unique challenges from small island nations. “We are generally considered small, even micro in some cases, but we are aware of which nations in our midst are the smallest and the very special challenges they face,” he emphasized.

    In closing, Joseph extended CANOC’s full support for Alfred as she aims to etch her name in history as the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year. “We extend best wishes to Julien Alfred in her quest to win the coveted title of World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year 2024. We certainly hope that she has the benefit of the votes of all of our members, etching her name in yet more sporting history in 2024,” he concluded.

     

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