Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — Spain’s old-and-new pairing of tennis superstars — won the first match they’ve ever played together as a doubles team, eliminating Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6 (4), 6-4 at the Paris Olympics on Saturday night.
The 38-year-old Nadal has not made clear whether the Summer Games will be the last event of his storied career, although there’s been plenty of speculation it will be, given all of his recent injury issues — he wore white tape wrapped around his right thigh Saturday — and his connection to Roland Garros. That’s the clay-court facility being used for these Olympics and the site of the annual French Open, where he claimed a record 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles.
Nadal’s participation in the 2024 Olympics actually began a night earlier, when he was a surprise torch bearer during the opening ceremony.
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Nadal, who won Olympic golds in singles in 2008 and in doubles in 2016, is scheduled to play in the first round of singles on Sunday against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics. If Nadal wins that, he would face longtime rival Novak Djokovic in the second round.
“Playing him is like a final, really, for me in any tournament, particularly here, knowing what he has achieved, what he’s done, for our sport, particularly here in Roland Garros. His record speaks for itself,” Djokovic said after winning his first-rounder earlier Saturday. “I look forward to it. If we get to face each other, it’s going to be possibly the last time we get to face each other on a big stage. I’m sure that people will enjoy it. I’m looking forward to it.”
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Neither Nadal nor Alcaraz, a 21-year-old coming off singles championships at the French Open in June and at Wimbledon two weeks ago, plays much doubles. There were hiccups Saturday against their sixth-seeded opponents, to be sure, including a 3-0 deficit in the second set, but the Spanish duo’s talent prevailed.
If this outing in front of a packed and raucous crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier was any indication, the cheers for Nadal will be as loud as can be for as long as he remains in the Olympics brackets.
While he has played only sparingly over the past two seasons because of hip surgery and an abdominal muscle problem, and lost in the first round of this year’s French Open to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev, Nadal looked just fine Saturday. Then again, doubles requires far less movement and stamina than singles, of course.
Still, Nadal’s movement appeared OK, and he showed off his tremendous volleying ability, including one back-to-the-net, over-the-shoulder, no-look winner in the first set. After the point, he wheeled and punched the air. Fans celebrated wildly.
Nadal frequently slapped palms with Alcaraz between points — whether won or lost — and occasionally patted his much-younger partner on the shoulder during pauses in the action.
When the match ended with a volley off Alcaraz’s racket, Nadal raised both fists. Alcaraz turned to his new partner and yelled, “Vamos!”
