Carlos Alcaraz could get his wish of reuniting with Rafael Nadal after it was confirmed that he will be playing at the Davis Cup Finals. It will mark Nadal’s first tournament appearance since the Olympics, with the 38-year-old having skipped the US Open and Laver Cup.
Nadal was originally set to represent Team Europe at the Laver Cup alongside Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud. He later announced that he would not be playing at the tournament and was replaced by Grigor Dimitrov.
On Monday, it was confirmed by Spain captain David Ferrer that Nadal would be representing his country in the Davis Cup Finals. Alcaraz has also been included in the five-strong team alongside Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta and Marcel Granollers.
Alcaraz made it clear that he was disappointed with Nadal’s absence at the Laver Cup but expressed hope that he would be able to reunite with his idol at the Davis Cup, which now looks set to become a reality.
“It would have been a unique experience,” said Alcaraz when asked for his thoughts on Nadal not playing in Germany. “I am going to miss him and I hope he returns to the courts soon when he feels well. I hope we meet at some tournament soon.
“I heard David say that if Rafa was there, he would go all out with him. I hope I’m also physically fit to be able to go to Malaga. It’s something that I’m particularly excited about and I hope Rafa is there too.
“Rafa is one of the greatest in the history of our sport. For me, he is my idol. He is the one I watched the matches with when I was a child. I have tried to learn from him as much as I could during the time we were together.
“I will miss him in Berlin because it was a unique opportunity to continue learning from him. He has been a unique tennis player.”
Nadal teamed up with Alcaraz to play doubles at the Olympics, eventually losing in the quarter-finals to the USA pairing of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram. Nadal also played singles and won his first match but was dumped out in the second round by Novak Djokovic.
It remains to be seen if Nadal and Alcaraz will rekindle their doubles partnership at the Davis Cup Finals in November as they look to help Spain win their seventh title.