Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article /
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz win to reach Olympics doubles quarterfinals
Updated On: 30 July, 2024 11:51 PM IST | Paris | mid-day online correspondent
They slapped palms. There would be more work to do, especially after dropping the second set, but they came through and will play on
Listen to this article :
Spain`s Carlos Alcaraz (R) playing with Spain`s Rafael Nadal (L) reacts while playing Netherlands` Tallon Griekspoor and Netherlands` Wesley Koolhof during their men`s doubles second round tennis match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen at the Roland-Garros Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris. Pic/AFP
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are getting the hang of this doubles thing, improving to 2-0 as a team at the Paris Olympics 2024 and moving into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 10-2 match tiebreaker victory over Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands on Tuesday. Playing a day after Nadal`s singles loss to rival Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz`s win against Griekspoor, the old-and-young Spanish duo, wearing polo shirts in slightly different shades of red, didn`t look like a pairing that never had played together until this event. As has been the case throughout tennis at this Summer Games, the attention was fully on the 38-year-old Nadal, owner of 22 Grand Slam titles and two gold medals, and the 21-year-old Alcaraz, whose major trophy total already is at four, including from the French Open last month and Wimbledon this month.
Nadal " whose wife and 1 1/2-year-old son, Rafael Jr., were in the stands " and Alcaraz will face the fourth-seeded American team of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram for a semifinal berth. Krajicek and Ram beat Thiago Monteiro and Thiago Seyboth Wild of Brazil 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Tuesday. In the scorching morning, more than six hours before this doubles match began, fans crowded into tiny Court 3 a short walk away for a practice session with Nadal at one baseline and Alcaraz at the other. Some folks waited in lines dozens deep hoping to get in to catch at least a glimpse of the two stars. Then, in the muggy evening, spectators filled every seat at 10,000-capacity Court Suzanne Lenglen, the second-largest stadium at Roland Garros, the facility being used for Summer Games tennis and also the site of the annual French Open that Nadal has won a record 14 times. Koolhof, a former doubles No. 1 and the 2023 men`s doubles champion at Wimbledon, and Griekspoor were introduced first, to polite applause and yells from their orange-clad Dutch supporters.
Trending Stories
Latest Photos
Latest Videos
Latest Web Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
Mid-Day Fast
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT