​All the time I spent in the press center of Roland Garros, I was surrounded by Spanish journalists (taking seats next to me). Smiling, always ready for a joke, very kind and often mixes discussions about tennis with football (topics about Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Benzema’s departure, etc.).

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They have a special charm and it’s nice to be with them – they radiate positive energy.

I have to admit that sometimes I got a little jealous watching them all this time.

Why be jealous? Because they have many players reaching the highest stage, and even if Rafael Nadal does not compete in Paris, the Iberian journalists have high hopes for a possible men’s final – let’s not forget that they have Carlos Alcaraz, the world leader.

Rafael Nadal, irreplaceable – Carlos Alcaraz, great promise

With the elimination of Irina Begu, we were left without players of the main singles category (for men, there is no one for several years already) from Paris, and the attention switched to athletes from other countries.

Curious to learn more about Rafael Nadal’s condition, I talked to a few of my neighbors. They hope that the “King of Cinders” will recover well from the recent operation and that we will see him again on the Cinders of Paris next year (even if he will be 38 years old by then).

They know Rafa well (one of the journalists admitted to me that Nadal found him on the court, not the other way around) and they know that he will do everything to bring Philippe Chatrier back at least one more time.

This could be the “last dance” for the athlete who won the Chatrier trophy from 14 races.

“You don’t miss Rafa much, do you? You only have Carlitos,” the question got some of them a little excited.

“Yes, this is a very big promise from Carlitos, but he will never be able to match Rafa. At least at this stage of my career,” one of them, a representative of EFE, answered me dryly.

Spain has nine players in the world top 100: Alcaraz, Nadal, Carreño Busta, Bautista Agut, Davidovich Fokina, Zapata Miralles, Carballes Baena, Ramos-Vinolas and Jaume Munar.

As expected, my journalistic “neighbors” have high hopes for Alcaraz.

“Next are two finals: the first with Stefanos (without Tsitsipas), over whom he dominates primarily from a psychological point of view, and then a big match with Djokovic,” they believe.

In direct matches with Tsitsipas, Alcaraz has a score of 4:0 (two victories are on clay: Barcelona 2022, 2023), and with Nole he has a minimal advantage: 1:0 (the success was in last year’s semifinal in Madrid).

Rafael Nadal – 37 years old, 22 Grand Slam titles

Carlos Alcaraz – 20 years old, one Grand Slam title.

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