In the morning, I got into a bus carrying mediapersons to the Games Village, which will house thousands of Olympians and sports officials during the Paris Summer Games. After acquiring a Games Pass, I entered the main media centre inside the Village. I could not believe my eyes when I saw some familiar faces among the Spanish athletes who were getting ready to hold a press conference.
One of them was Rafael Nadal, the raging bull of clay-court tennis! The headband, fiery aces, and heavy grunts… the images of him dominating the clay court at the Roland Garros suddenly flashed through my mind. However, the Nadal I saw at the media centre was entirely different. He looked calm and friendly. His hair was neatly combed and was sporting a big smile.
Apart from Nadal, Spain's Olympic team captain David Ferrer and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz were also present. To the questions of Spanish journalists, they responded gently and precisely. Jose Luis, a sports reporter with the Eurosport channel, donned the interpreter's role for a while.
When Ferrer announced that Nadal, who turned 38 on June 3, and Alcaraz would form a doubles team at the Games, the hall echoed a thunderous applause. As Nadal may be looking to go out with one final hurrah at the Olympic Games, the Spanish Tennis Federation authorities are hoping to give him a proper farewell. They are confident that the 21-year-old Alcaraz would help the veteran win another Olympic doubles title to add to his gold at Rio 2016 which he won in the company of Marc Lopez.
Alcaraz, the defending French Open champion, will also be looking to continue his domination on clay, where Nadal has won the title a record 14 times. Nadal, who has a singles gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Games, will also be competing in the singles in Paris.
"I was just 22 when I attended my first Olympics. This event is a celebration of athletic prowess, sportsmanship, camaraderie and mutual respect. All are equal here, and everyone respects the same rules, irrespective of their social background. We all live in similar rooms with basic facilities and eat the same food," Nadal said.
Alcaraz was the last one to speak at the press conference. He indicated that he was excited to team up with Nadal in the doubles.
As the players were trooping off the hall, Nadal paused and invited us to click a selfie with him. Surely, a pure fan-boy moment for me! Thank you, Rafa.
