Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal made an impressive start to their highly anticipated doubles debut on Saturday at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Spanish pair defeated the sixth-seeded Argentine team of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni with a score of 7-6(4), 6-4, advancing to the second round.
“It’s been an emotional night, an electrifying night, an amazing crowd,” Nadal shared with reporters. “Playing with Carlos on this court has been so special. We’re just super happy about the victory, that it’s given us the chance to keep going.”
Alcaraz, who had already won his singles match earlier in the day, had a shaky start by losing his serve in the first game and facing two break points in his second service game. However, Nadal, participating in his fourth Olympics at age 38, helped steady the team with his signature forehand winners and quick reflexes at the net.
Dressed in Spanish red shirts and white shorts, Alcaraz and Nadal employed a ‘two back‘ return strategy, with Nadal returning on the deuce side. They aimed to seize control of rallies by using angles and moving forward. In the opening-set tie-break, they secured a mini-break at 3/3 when Alcaraz’s forehand clipped the net cord and deflected off Gonzalez’s racquet.
In the second set, they fell behind 0-3 but rallied to win three straight games, gaining momentum and securing a crucial break at 4-4. Nadal, a 92-time tour-level titleist, then served out the match, with fans chanting “Rafa! Rafa!“ under the Court-Philippe Chatrier roof.
Nadal, who has two Olympic gold medals (2008 Beijing singles, 2016 Rio doubles with Marc Lopez), played the entire one-hour, 47-minute match with his upper right leg taped but showed no signs of restricted movement.
Next up for the former World No. 1’s in the PIF ATP Rankings are either Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof or Hungarians Marton Fucsovics and Fabian Marozsan. Interestingly, Fucsovics is Nadal’s first-round singles opponent.
