Nadal and Alcaraz dream team to dance in Roland Garros spotlight

PARIS : The Olympic tennis competition slides into action on Saturday with Rafa Nadal, the undisputed king of Roland Garros, the name on everyone's lips as he plots another golden chapter as the sun goes down on his remarkable career.

This time last year it looked likely the Spaniard's time was up as he battled injuries and barely swung a racket in anger.

But the magnetic pull of an Olympic Games on his beloved Parisian clay has proved irresistible for the 38-year-old whose mere presence promises to upstage everything else.

Serbian top seed Novak Djokovic will have one final attempt to win the Olympic title that has proved so infuriatingly elusive and Iga Swiatek will seek to turn her domination of red clay into gold in the women's singles.

Twice Olympic singles champion Andy Murray will contest his last tournament while Germany's three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber is also bowing out.

Several high-profile withdrawals, including men's top seed Jannik Sinner and Denmark's Holger Rune, overshadowed the build-up to the start of the tournament on Saturday.

But the prospect of Nadal trying to add to his Olympic medal haul is a tantalising one.

A repeat of his Beijing singles gold in 2008 might be too much to ask, although Djokovic will hardly relish a potential second-round clash with his old French Open nemesis.

But excitement is bubbling about his doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz - the 21-year-old who claimed his fourth Grand Slam title by winning Wimbledon this month.

"I think it's going to be the most-watched team in the Olympics, not to disrespect any other sports, maybe the American basketball team will be as eagerly-anticipated, but this is the dream team for Spain," six-time Grand Slam champion and 1992