The echoes of the controversial opening of the Olympic Games have already faded, where, in my personal opinion and beyond the possible insults that have been expressed, Paris lost the opportunity to claim the well-earned status for which it has been recognized and admired for many years: class, elegance and good taste. Even so, the incomparable setting, some stellar moments, such as the finale, with the magnificent performance of Céline Dion or the last relays that culminated with the lighting of the Olympic flame, will certainly remain in our memories.
With the first ten days of competition behind us and the decisive week well underway, the Spanish delegation is far from meeting the expectations of its leaders and, of course, of many of us, the sports fans. Let us hope that in the days that remain, our athletes will have a little more luck. Last Sunday, without going any further, we experienced a bittersweet day. Carolina Marín, to the great regret of those of us who admire her, experienced first-hand the bitterest side of sport. When she was close to securing a medal and keeping her chances of fighting for gold intact, she suffered a painful injury that forced her to abandon the competition; a frustrating disappointment that is increased when it happens in a quadrennial competition and she is the favourite.
Golfer Jon Rahm also had to deal with the sour side of the coin. When he was almost on the verge of winning the gold medal, he saw how some unfortunate mistakes at the end not only robbed him of the gold medal, but also left him without the possibility of fighting for the other two medals. One of the joys we took away, however, was given to us by tennis players Sara Sorribes and Cristina Bucsa, who won a well-deserved bronze medal. They won it after a great match against the Czechs Noskova and Muchova, over whom they were very superior, beating them by a resounding double 6-2.
The men’s tennis final and the subsequent fight for the gold medal between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic deserve special mention. Our great player was defeated in an intense and tight match that ended in favour of the Serbian by a double 7-6. It is true that the Spaniard was the top favourite to add Olympic success to his trophy cabinet, but on this occasion he came up against a great Djokovic who reminded us of his best versions. The match was very even throughout, played with great intensity and with continuous exchanges from the back of the court. This is attested to by the curious fact that neither of the two contenders managed to break their opponent’s serve. The key to Carlos’ defeat was his lack of success on the eight balls of the court. break that he had in the first set. I think that if he had been able to convert any of them, the victory would probably have gone his way.
In this magnificent final we saw a much improved Novak since the last battle between the two at Wimbledon, just a few weeks ago. While the Serbian was disconcerted and slower than usual there and Carlos, for his part, was able to overwhelm him again and again with fast shots from the back of the court, on this occasion we saw the player from Belgrade greatly improved and with a speed of movement typical of the great player that he continues to be. He forced the tennis player from Murcia to force his shots from the back of the court again and again, which led him to make one or two more mistakes.
The images of Carlos crying on the court with clear signs of grief and frustration have left us with a bitter feeling, but they should not in any way lead us to think that it was a defeat. He lost a match that could have easily gone his way, standing up for himself at all times, fighting until the last ball as we know is usual for him, and keeping an entire country in suspense, who enjoy watching him for his great tennis and his passion.
His meritorious silver medal against the best tennis player in history undoubtedly deserves all our admiration.
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