It is not the first Olympic year for the world of tennis. But a year like this is decidedly special. The Games return to clay 32 years after Barcelona 1992, when Marc ‘Pippo’ Rosset took the most important title of his career, overcoming the home idol Jordi Arrese in a dramatic final (8-6 in the fifth). But this time the land is decidedly more prestigious, being that of Roland Garros. The point, however, is another. The point is that for the first time in history we will return to the Bois de Boulogne, a few days after finishing Wimbledon. On the grass. A coming and going between fields and crushed brick that will put the players, their coaches and the physical trainers to the test.
But how are the champions reacting to the approach of this unusual match? Is there more concern or more curiosity? Let’s start with someone who will represent himself in Paris, not being able to represent his country, Daniil Medvedev: “In Tokyo – explains the Russian – I arrived with a relative motivation, as if it were any tournament on the Tour. But in reality I was very struck by the atmosphere, by the type of life in the Olympic village. And now I can’t wait to repeat that experience. It’s not up to me to say whether or not it’s right for me to participate as a neutral, but I will go to the Games for myself and to give my best. The grass-earth transition will be complicated, but interesting. We will need to take all the time needed to prepare both as best as possible, the key will be the timing.”
Paris 2024 will also be a priority for Novak Djokovic, assuming the Serbian manages to recover in time from the knee operation following the problem he encountered at Roland Garros. “I hope I can get there healthy and give my best, because it is an event that is only played every four years.” For Nole, in this case, the Wimbledon problem will hardly arise, considering the recovery time required to see him on the pitch. An obligatory choice for the Serbian, an identical – but considered – choice for Rafa Nadal, who decided not to play the Championships to play what will most likely be his last Olympicswhere he should also partner Carlos Alcaraz in doubles.
About Alcaraz. For Carlitos, the Wimbledon-Paris pairing will be: “Something complicated to handle, I imagine. If I had to choose just one title, however, this time I would choose to take the Olympic Gold.” It is no longer a surprise to hear this type of declaration from the players, who have once again given special attention to the Games, equal to (or greater than, in some cases) that dedicated to the Slams. Something very different from that edition of Barcelona 1992, when the big names were there, but they soon ended up eliminated in favor of the outsiders. After all, at the time, tennis had officially returned to the Olympic circuit for just 4 years, and the feeling between racket and five hoops had not yet taken off.
Two who will be looking for a medal at the Olympics are the Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini. Jas, also in singles, while together they will hunt for the most precious metal in doubles. Even more so since some of the best couples in the world, made up of players from different countries, will necessarily have to split up. “This is a clear objective – confirms Sara – that we have been thinking about for some time. Tackling this particular year is stimulating but Paris will be a challenge. It will be different to Roland Garros, but we will be able to adapt and it will be exciting.” Remaining in Italy, there are also Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori who are in the same position: Slam finalists and expected from the Games for a further step: “We will need to keep our attention high – suggests Bolelli – and focus on one thing at a time. First Wimbledon, then Paris. Thinking too much about the future doesn’t help.”
A clear concept that emerges is precisely this, time will be decisive. Except for those who will have to (or want to) choose only one of the two events (Andy Murray is also in doubt for the Olympics), for all the others it will be necessary to take one step at a time, seeking the condition in the shortest possible time. “I won’t play in Berlin to recover energy – he said Iga Swiatek – but I hope to be ready for the events that follow, also because I recently demonstrated that I can adapt quickly to different surfaces. I hope it will be the same this time.”
