Daniil Medvedev left puzzled by Carlos Alcaraz Olympic Games dream: "I'm in a way surprised, I wonder why he said it"

Daniil Medvedev expressed his surprise after Carlos Alcaraz revealed that he prefers to win the Olympic Games rather than a Grand Slam in 2024. The Russian tennis player commented that, although the Olympics are a great tournament, the Grand Slam events "have the edge and are a bit more important in tennis."

Alcaraz is currently in Buenos Aires competing in the Argentina Open and acknowledged in a press conference that this year, he prefers the gold medal: "This year, if you gave me a choice, I would say that I will keep the Olympic gold. Although I would like to win both (the French Open and the Olympics), I’m not going to lie."

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Medvedev reacted to Alcaraz's comments and offered his own opinion on the matter: "I’m in a way surprised. I wonder why he said it, was it because he was watching the Olympics when he was young, or for different reasons? Because it’s actually interesting," the 28-year-old Russian said.

“When I played the Olympics in Tokyo [in 2021], I really wanted to play well, and [after losing to Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals] I was very, very disappointed and for a week I was really feeling bad, which doesn’t happen to me all the time after lost matches," the former world No. 1 added.

“So it’s a very big event which I think every player dreams of winning, but I do think that Grand Slams — in my opinion — have the edge and are a bit more important in tennis," claimed Medvedev

“Grand Slams are important, Olympics are important, ATP Finals are important. And I think what is the same in all these tournaments, is that when you’re there, you feel like ‘wow’, to win it I need to be at my best level and it’s going to be a huge victory if I do it. And that is the difference to some other tournaments.”

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Alcaraz’s aspiring for Olympic gold

The world No. 2 acknowledged that the opportunity to become Olympic champion on behalf of Spain will be a dream in Paris 2024, a tournament that will take place on the courts of Roland Garros: “

“I am a boy who dreams big, I am very ambitious and I target the best in the world and the best in history. That’s what motivates me to give my 100% day to day and to go to the tournaments to be able to win them,” Alcaraz added.