Carlos Alcaraz opens up on Paris Olympic tears after Novak Djokovic loss - 'I felt that I had let my country down'
Published 01/03/2025 at 23:20 GMT
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Carlos Alcaraz admitted he felt like he had let his country down in his Olympic men's tennis final loss to Novak Djokovic at Paris 2024. The Spaniard lost in two extremely close sets to the Serbian and was overcome with emotion afterwards, walking away from an interview in order to regather himself. The Spaniard has opened up on the tearful moment and explained his expressive reaction.
Overcome Alcaraz forced to walk away from interview after Djokovic loss in Olympic final
Video credit: TNT Sports
Carlos Alcaraz has opened up about his emotional moment following the Olympic men's tennis final at Paris 2024, where he lost to Novak Djokovic, admitting that he "felt that I had let my country down."
The 21-year-old lost in two close sets and immediately after the match, he began crying and was forced to walk away from an interview with Alex Corretja to regather himself.
The gold medal match was the first major final that Alcaraz had lost in his career, as the Spaniard won all four Grand Slam finals he had been involved in - two of which came against Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz was overrun with emotion after falling short of a goal that he had outlined at the beginning of the year, and felt the pressure of playing for his country.
"It was a difficult moment. The truth is that it was a difficult moment because my objective from the beginning of the year was to win the gold medal," Alcaraz said.
"And that week I felt the need to do it. In the end that feeling can be wrong - to feel the need to do something - so in that moment when I didn’t do it, obviously after a defeat, 10-15 minutes after an objective you haven’t been able to complete, it’s difficult to put everything in perspective.
"And in that moment I felt that I had let my country down, that I had let the Spanish people down, for not winning the gold medal that everyone was expecting. And that’s why I reacted like that, letting my feelings go, and obviously speaking to the cameras, expressing myself in that moment, and showing to my country and to the world how I felt, I think it was necessary."
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Alcaraz lost against Djokovic once again in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open at the beginning of 2025, but bounced back to win the Rotterdam Open and clinch his first title of the year in February.
BIG THREE ACHIEVEMENTS 'IMPOSSIBLE TO REPEAT'
Alcaraz also discussed whether he and his cohort of players can reach the bar set by Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
He believes the achievements and rivalry of the legendary 'Big Three' will be "practically impossible to repeat" in his generation.
The three hold a combined 66 Grand Slam titles, leaving a "practically impossible" task for the likes of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to replicate.
"They have set the bar for tennis and what can be done at an astronomical level," he said.
"There are many players capable of winning Grand Slams, of beating the best. Young players, including myself, who can really be fighting for great things.
"But getting to the point of that rivalry between Rafa, Federer and Djokovic, the truth is that it will be practically impossible to repeat that. We will have our battles; I will have my battles with great players, but a rivalry like theirs will be practically impossible."
Alcaraz and Sinner won the four Grand Slams in 2024 to suggest a rivalry that could run and run.
The prospect of the two facing off at Indian Wells is off the table due to Sinner's three-month ban from competition.
Alcaraz feels tennis will move on from the era of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and that the sport will evolve.
"The era of [John] McEnroe and all those players has been very different from that of Federer, Rafa and Djokovic. And our stage, our moment is going to be different from that of them," Alcaraz continued.
"Tennis is changing: the tournaments, the speed of the balls, everything changes. And we have to keep changing as tennis evolves.
"I think that Rafa, Federer and Djokovic have accustomed us in a certain way, but tennis will continue to evolve and we will evolve."
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