Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz improved their chances of winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics by reaching the men’s doubles quarterfinals.
In the second round of the 2024 Games on Roland Garros’ Court Suzanne-Lenglen, the Spanish dream team defeated Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-2.
Nadal and Alcaraz took the only break of the match and won the first set before losing a close second set in a tiebreak.
The pair then performed a sensational performance in the match tiebreak, sealing the victory in emphatic fashion.
The Spaniards, who had never played doubles together before the Games, will face Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, the fourth seeds, in the final eight.
Nadal hopes to become the first man in the Open Era to win two Olympic gold medals in men’s doubles, following his victory with partner Marc Lopez at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The 38-year-old tennis legend, who won a gold medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Games, is the only man to have won both the Olympic singles and doubles events during the Open Era.
In the second round of the Paris singles tournament, the 22-time Grand Slam champion lost in straight sets to his great rival Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz, the current world number three, is competing in his first Olympic Games, aiming for medals in both singles and doubles.
The 21-year-old will play world No 66 Roman Safiullin in the third round of the singles on Wednesday, after he defeated Griekspoor 6-1, 7-6(3) in the second round.
Following Djokovic’s victory over Nadal, Alcaraz gave his thoughts on the one-sided contest and recognised the challenge of facing the great Serbian when in top form.
“When Djokovic is playing at this level, it’s really, really difficult to play against him,” the four-time Grand Slam winner remarked in a press conference following his second-round singles victory.
“He was really active, did not make any mistakes, and moved quite well. Rafa was definitely not playing his best tennis when I watched him. But when Djokovic was like this, he was the best player.”