While Carlos Alcaraz is set to return in the Cincinnati Open, the Spanish tennis star claims that he now has more experience in his belt than most people think, considering the fact he has played two massive runs in the Olympics, both in singles and doubles. However, Alcaraz further states that he is pleased to have the opportunity to play with Nadal on the big stage.

The team-up for the duo was quite one of the most promising partnerships among various tennis players. It has been hyped long before the Olympics began its hype for this year’s edition. One can consider that this was indeed a promising learning experience for Alcaraz with the way he has absorbed veteran versatility and confidence on the court with Nadal.

While they lost in the early stages, it is still quite a run to remember with the way these two stars have graced the court with their impressive plays and undeniable chemistry in the game.

An Experience to Remember

Alcaraz said that playing with Nadal has introduced him to a higher and more competitive level of tennis. So far, this has led to a lot of promising plays from the duo, with Alcaraz learning more about his game and what he can do in his game moving forward.

“It was a great experience, talking with Rafa off the court, knowing each other much better off the court. It was a great experience, obviously, playing doubles together. It was great,” Alcaraz said. “It was something that I will never forget, for sure. I learned a lot talking to him on court, off the court as well. I think we played a great tennis in doubles, even if we are not used to playing doubles very often.”

Alcaraz would go on to claim the silver medal in the singles, losing to Novak Djokovic in the Final. Of course, Alcaraz has taken all of these losses to heart and has certainly focused to actually come up with better strides in the long run. After all, he is still young and has a lot to learn in the game as well.

“A little bit disappointing at the end, because we thought that we could do it better, but in general, we were happy,” Alcaraz said. “And obviously talking about myself, I reached my dream, my dream came true, playing doubles alongside Rafa.”

Bigger Growth in the Game

Alcaraz has played with Nadal, a player who has amassed a lot of accolades in his career. The Spanish Maestro has tallied 22 major titles and 36 Masters 1000 trophies, and it is worth noting that Nadal himself has spent a total of 209 weeks at no. 1 in the ATP Rankings. For Alcaraz, his experiences this year is definitely something to build on to establish a legacy like Nadal’s.

“I always want to be better. I always think that I could do it better. Obviously, I had a great summer: Roland Garros, Wimbledon, silver in the Olympics. Obviously, I wanted the gold medal,” Alcaraz said. “After the matches, if I win or I lose, I like to find the bad things that I did in the matches, try to be better, try to in the next match not make the same mistakes in the shots or dealing with some situations. And that's what happened.”

That says a lot about how Alcaraz is putting all of those crucial learnings to work, especially if it means that he gets to show what he can offer on the big stage.