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Spain's Rafael Nadal (right) and Carlos Alcaraz won their first doubles match at the Paris Olympics.
Roland Garros, Paris
CNN
—
After all these years, Rafael Nadal continues to find new ways to win matches on his favorite tennis court.
His most recent victory on the French clay courts came alongside Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics, when the two formed a dream pairing – a two-for-the-price-of-one Olympic moment for tennis fans.
At Court Philippe Chatrier, where Nadal won his 14th French Open title and Alcaraz won his first last month, the crowd went crazy for “Nadal-Carazu” for nearly two hours, cheering hysterically as the Spanish pair beat Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Saturday's match was a rare opportunity to pit two of tennis' greatest names in the twilight years of their careers against each other on the same side of the net: Nadal, with the experience and brilliance of 22 Grand Slam titles under his belt, and Alcaraz, with his illustrious career and high-octane style of play.
It was no easy win against a pair of veteran doubles players — a reflection of the limited time Nadal and Alcaraz have to practice and play together — but it still made for an entertaining debut for tennis' new hotbed of a duo.
“It was an emotional night, an exciting night, the crowd was fantastic,” Nadal told reporters. “It was really special to be on this court playing with Carlos. I'm very happy with the win. It gives us a chance to go forward.”
Nadal has already played a starring role in this year's Olympics, having been selected as one of the final torchbearers at Friday night's opening ceremony.
Less than 24 hours later, he took to the court alongside Alcaraz and put on a different kind of show, displaying sharp play and a deft touch at the net. The crowd at Philippe Chatrier chanted his name throughout the match, the loudest of cheers coming when he celebrated winning on match point by slamming the ball into the stands.
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Nadal and Alcaraz celebrated their win in their doubles debut.
“Yesterday was a very emotional moment for me and I can't thank Paris and France enough for this honour,” Nadal said. “Emotions are still very high so I'm enjoying every moment.”
Both teams traded service breaks early on in Saturday's match before a tense and drawn-out first set. Nadal and Alcaraz finally took the lead midway through the first-set tiebreak after the chant “Allez Les Blues” rang out with the news that France had won the rugby sevens gold medal.
After winning three consecutive points to take a 6-3 lead, Nadal seized the opportunity with a powerful backhand return down the line to close out the set.
That advantage looked to be slipping away as Gonzalez and Molteni broke Nadal's serve to go up 3-0, but the Spaniard fought back brilliantly, winning the next 12 consecutive points to get back to level at 3-3.
There was another break of serve two games later, when Alcaraz broke it with a cross-court backhand, but Nadal was then able to serve to close the match.
The 21-year-old Alcaraz, playing alongside his childhood idol and on a hot streak that has included wins at the French Open and Wimbledon in the past two months, began his Olympic singles action with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Lebanon's Hadi Habib early Saturday morning.
This was Nadal's first Olympic experience and he's hoping to add another gold medal to his two previous titles (singles in 2008 and doubles in 2016). As he enters the final stages of his career, it's just as important for the 38-year-old to enjoy the experience as it is to win titles.
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Nadal (left) and his partner Alcaraz embrace during a match.
The all-star duo with Alcaraz has only been together for about two weeks, but Gonzalez and Molteni, who have played together many times and won titles together during their long careers, posed a tough test early on.
“Rafa has experience and charisma,” Nadal's coach, Carlos Moya, said before Saturday's match, “and Carlos is very expressive and passionate, just like Rafa was when he was 20 or 21. It's a partnership that tennis fans are going to fall in love with, and I hope it continues.”
Nadal is uncertain about whether he will play in the singles, but is due to face Hungary's Marton Fucsovics on Sunday – and could face Novak Djokovic in the second round – and was quick to respond when asked if he was ready for a final showdown with his great rival.
“Who said last dance?” he retorted. And who could blame him, winning on his favorite court and applauded by thousands of fans?
