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The Rafael Nadal-Carlos Alcaraz pairing is off to a great start in Paris.
Nadal and Alcaraz rolled past the Argentine doubles pair of Andrés Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez on Saturday in the first full day of the Olympics. They picked up a quick 7-6, 6-4 win in straight sets to advance out of the first round at Roland Garros in what was their first doubles match together.
Rafa Nadal & Carlos Alcaraz’ reaction after winning their first ever doubles match together at the Olympics.
Arms in the air.
They share a hug.
This team is something special.
Nadalcaraz all day long. 🥹
🇪🇸❤️
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 27, 2024
The first set was tight the entire way through. After Argentina jumped up 1-0 early, Nadal and Alcaraz rallied immediately and bounced back and forth with Gonzalez and Molteni until they forced a tiebreak — which they quickly pulled ahead to grab the early advantage in the best-of-three series.
Though that seemed to light a fire under Gonzalez and Molteni, as they rallied to win the first three games in the second set, Nadal and Alcaraz responded perfectly. They quickly closed out the match by winning six of the next seven games to advance into the second round.
Nadal and Alcaraz will now take on either the Dutch pair of Wesley Koolhof and Tallon Griekspoor or the Hungarian duo of Fábián Marozsán and Márton Fuscovics. They are scheduled to compete in their opening-round match on Saturday.
Alcaraz is making his Olympics debut after a dominant run in the sport. The top-ranked player in the world is fresh off wins at both Wimbledon and the French Open this season, which brought him to five Grand Slam titles in his career.
Nadal, on the other hand, has been limited in recent years due to injuries. The 14-time Grand Slam winner, now 38 years old, won the gold singles medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the gold doubles medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro alongside Marc Lopez.
Both players are competing in the singles tournament, too. Alcaraz rolled over Lebanon’s Hady Habib in straight sets in his first-round match on Friday. Nadal will take on Fuscovics in his singles match on Saturday. If he can advance out of the first round, Nadal will take on Novak Djokovic in the second round.
