Rafael Nadal to make protege's lifelong dream a reality

As Rafael Nadal begins his swan song, the Spaniard will make his protege's lifelong dream a reality.

Barely seconds after Carlos Alcaraz captured his first French Open title, he reiterated his desire to return to Paris next month to win Olympic gold playing alongside his idol, Nadal.

On Wednesday, David Ferrer, the captain of the Spanish men's team, confirmed the dream pairing for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

"If nothing happens to prevent it, Rafa and Carlos will be playing together in Paris," Ferrer said while naming Pablo Carreno Busta, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Marcel Granollers as other members of Team Spain. 

Nadal, the only active male player to win Olympic gold in both singles and doubles, will get a chance to add to his legacy on his way out of the sport. The Spaniard captured singles gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and doubles gold alongside Marc Lopez at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The 38-year-old icon plans to be selective about the events he plays in the presumed final year of his storied sport. It's why the 22-time major winner won't participate in next month's Wimbledon. 

How fitting would it be for Nadal to win another gold playing next to his mentee? 

As for Alcaraz, the fastest-rising star in the sport has limited experience playing in a doubles/team setting, with his last doubles match taking place at the 2022 ATP Masters in Madrid. The World No. 2 has played only six doubles matches his entire pro career, going 3-3 in those outings. 

Alcaraz and Nadal will be part of a 32-team draw, including the Croatian duo of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who captured gold at Tokyo 2020.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will mark the first time the tennis quotient of the event will be played on clay surface since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. 

It almost seems ordained for "The King of Clay" to conquer his beloved surface one last time while passing the torch to his successor.