Paris 2024 tennis: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz dig deep to reach men’s doubles quarter-finals
For all that Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz have achieved - and will achieve in Alcaraz’s case - it’s hard to believe they can still improve at tennis.
“We knew that this match was going to be better than the first one,” said Alcaraz, after he and Nadal advanced to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 men’s doubles quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-7, 10-2 win over bthe Netherlands pair of Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof on Tuesday, 30 July.
“We know each other much better on the court. We know how we have to play in the doubles. I feel like I was more of a doubles player.”
With 26 Grand Slam titles between them, Nadal and Alcaraz were made to work hard by their Dutch opponents, who kept it close in the two-hour, 22-minute affair with standing room only at Roland-Garros.
After the Spaniards largely controlled and captured the first set, Griekspoor and Koolhof wouldn’t go away in the second, trading game for game to invite the tiebreak. They pounced on the first set point to force the decisive third set.
But it was all Nadal and Alcaraz there, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and never looking back. Griekspoor and Koolhof tried, but the opposition wasn’t going to let them have it, winning on the second match point.
Match by match, Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are becoming a formidable doubles pairing
Rafael Nadal taking nothing for granted
Nadal and Alcaraz next take on USA’s Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram for a spot in the last four on Wednesday, 31 July but the Nadal, the man who is back in his stomping yard where he won 14 French Open titles, wasn’t about to get ahead of himself just yet.
“Well, we had fun because the score was positive in thebtiebreak,” Nadal said. “We have been suffering but of course we are enjoying playing together.
“We are creating good synergies with good energy, so we are having fun in general. I think we have a positive relationship outside of the court that helps inside.
“We are happy we're in quarter-finals, closer to the goal and let's keep being focused. Tomorrow is another important day.
“He has singles before and then doubles. So let's focus on the singles first, Carlos, and then I will be there waiting,” he said with a nod to the reigning two-time Wimbledon champion standing next to him.
Alcaraz, who lifted the men’s singles trophy on these very premises last month, said: “I played really good tennis at the net. I served pretty well so I think we both played really good tennis - much better than the first one.”
“We are going to keep working. We are going to keep improving our doubles game and it’s going to be better in the quarter-final.”