"Would love my name alongside Steffi Graf & Rafael Nadal" - Carlos Alcaraz aiming to join tennis greats by achieving unique feat with Olympic gold

Carlos Alcaraz is targeting a rare feat of winning the French Open, Wimbledon, and Olympic gold in singles in the same year. Only Steffi Graf and Rafael Nadal have previously done so. The young Spaniard has the opportunity to join the elite list at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Alcaraz has been in exceptional form this year. He won the French Open and followed it up with the Wimbledon title to earn the Channel Slam. Now, in Paris, he has reached the gold medal match and aims to win another prestigious title.

In 1988, Graf won the Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and Olympics singles gold and became the first payer to achieve the feat. In 2008, Nadal replicated the feat and etched his name in the history books. Alcaraz has the opportunity to become only the third player to accomplish this unique feat.

On Friday, August 2, Alcaraz defeated Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinal of the Paris Olympics. In a post-match interview, he admitted his desire to join the exclusive list.

"I would love to have my name alongside those of Steffi and Rafa, two legends of tennis and sport in general," Carlos Alcaraz said.

---

Carlos Alcaraz confirms Olympic medal but wants it to be gold

Carlos Alcaraz (Image via Getty)

No matter the result of the gold medal match, Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed a medal for Spain. However, the Spaniard is 'ambitious' and will fight to achieve his goal of winning gold.

During his post-match interview, the 21-year-old said:

"I'm very happy to do my bit and be able to bring a medal back to Spain but I'm an ambitious guy and my goal since the beginning of the year was gold. We're one step closer and we're going to go for it."

Upon reaching the final, Alcaraz became the second youngest man to reach an Olympic singles final. He is second behind USA's Robert LeRoy, who was 19 when he reached the final in 1904. Moreover, Alcaraz is only the fourth Spanish man to reach an Olympic singles final.

He expressed pride in representing his nation and bringing a medal home:

"For me it is an honour and a source of pride to represent our country, which for me is one of the greatest things in the world, and obviously what better way to do it than to bring home a medal."

Alcaraz will take on the winner of the semifinal between Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Italy's Lorenzo Musetti on Sunday, August 4.