Paris 2024 Olympics: Promising start for Spain’s 'Nadalcaraz' as Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz win doubles opener
The unseeded Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain created chemistry at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in their first-ever doubles tennis match as a pair beating Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6 (7:4), 6-4 at Roland Garros on Saturday (27 July).
The duo looked uncomfortable at first but as the match progressed they found their groove to edge out the seasoned doubles campaigners.
The doubles contest was a special moment as the Mecca of clay-court tennis welcomed its favourite son and his heir apparent. Competing together for the first time, the 'Nadalcaraz' pairing showed chemistry between two generations.
Tennis icon Billie Jean King received a standing ovation as she stepped out onto the centre court where she performed the “Les trois coups” pre-match ritual striking a baton on the ground three times to announce the start of the performance.
The energetic crowd raised the roof at the sight of Nadal and his young compatriot appeared in the familiar Spanish red shirts.
"I will never forget this moment. We knew it was not going to be easy but we did it," said a visibly elated Alcaraz.
Boasting 26 singles Grand Slams between them, Nadal and Alcaraz are on paper a formidable pairing but are doubles rookies compared to the sixth-seeded Gonzalez and Molteni.
Winning the toss and opting to receive first seemed to pay off for the Argentine pair as they broke to take an early 1-0 lead. But the unseeded Nadal and Alcaraz shook off the setback breaking back to restore the status quo.
The rest of the set was a true battle of attrition with the Spaniards playing like long-time partners with each point that went their way. The fist pumps and high-fives became more frequent and the celebrations more intense.
But the Argentinians would not be intimidated, with the duo matching the Spanish men point for point to enforce the tiebreaker in the first set.
A festive atmosphere prevailed with the umpire having to call for silence throughout the contest. The tennis dished up on the court made it impossible for the fans to remain in their seats.
A brilliant Nadal return down the line and past Molteni at the net ultimately sealed the first set and gave Spain the early leg up - 7-4 in the tie-break.
The Argentina duo came out swinging in the second set taking a 3-0 lead before Nadal/Alcaraz held their next serve and recovered the break. A scream of ‘vamos’ reverberated across the arena as the momentum swung back in Spain’s favour winning three in a row (3-3). Spain came painstakingly close to making it four, but Gonzalez and Molteni managed to hold serve.
Alcaraz and Nadal did not have to wait long for the breakthrough as they found the edge for a sniff of victory.
Nadal delivered the goods on his serve to win the set and the match.
Earlier, Alcaraz got his maiden Olympics off to a winning start in the singles competitions making short shrift of Hady Habib (6-3, 6-1). Nadal, in turn, will take on Marton Fucsovics in the first round of the singles competition on Sunday.
Paris 2024 is a fitting farewell at Nadal’s spiritual home of Roland Garros where he has won a record 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles. As the curtain is drawn on Nadal’s spectacular career, the 21-year-old Alcaraz already has four Grand Slams to his name, including a maiden French Open title from last month.
Nadal received a hero’s welcome in Paris the night before when he received the Olympic flame from French football legend Zinedine Zidane at the foot of the Eiffel Tower during the Opening Ceremony. The Spanish legend then joined Serena Williams, nine-time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis and five-time gymnastics gold medallist Nadia Comaneci for a boat ride on the Seine.