Carlos Alcaraz, one of the most promising young talents in tennis, said in Argentina, where he is defending his title from last year at the Argentina Open, that he would rather win the Olympic Games in Paris than the world's premier clay court tournament. The young Spaniard, who has been a fixture on the circuit for a couple of seasons now and has been the world number one for several weeks, although he is now relegated to second place by many who consider Novak Djokovic to be the best in history, said in Buenos Aires that his priority is to win gold in Paris.

"If I had to choose, I would rather win Olympic gold this year than Roland Garros," the US Open (2022) and Wimbledon (2023) champion told a news conference in the Argentine capital.

Although "Carlitos" Alcaraz admitted that winning the French Open for the first time would "excite me a lot", he does not consider it superior to the other Grand Slams. "I don't feel that I have to win it or that I have a chip on my shoulder because I haven't won it yet. It's a very nice tournament, very special for Spaniards, but for me it's like any other Grand Slam," he said. Alcaraz also admitted that the rivals to beat are now "Djokovic and Sinner, no doubt about it."

On his current form, the player from El Palmar, Murcia, insisted: "My current level is very good (...) I've been playing good tennis in Australia and the training days I've had on clay have been very good, I feel very good physically and with a very high level of tennis". In the wide-ranging press conference, the Spaniard did not hesitate to touch on all sorts of topics, including his opinion of Saudi Arabia and the organisation of major tournaments, assessing that "it's good to have more tennis, to open up countries where we go and where we play". 

He also defended his compatriot Rafael Nadal, who has been heavily criticised after being appointed ambassador by the Saudi Tennis Federation. "I don't see anything wrong with it (Nadal's appointment) because it's a country that is developing and opening up to the world of sport, and it's good that Rafa is there to bring tennis-related things to a place where tennis hasn't been played before".

While in Argentina, he also praised the growth of the Buenos Aires tournament and supported the organisation's bid to become an ATP 500 event. "I loved this tournament, regardless of winning, because I wanted to come to Buenos Aires for a long time. The people here are very passionate about tennis. I don't think this tournament is lacking anything. I wouldn't be surprised if this tournament becomes a 500," he concluded.