Olympic Moment of the Day: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, Tennis’ New Favorite Pair

Roland Garros, Paris
CNN
—

After all these years, Rafael Nadal He’s still finding new ways to win games on his favorite devices. Tennis court.

His latest win came on French clay courts alongside Carlos Alcaraz In the Paris OlympicsTogether, they formed a dream duo – a two-for-the-price-of-one ticket for tennis fans and a moment that could only happen at the Olympics.

For nearly two hours on Court Philippe Chatrier – the site of Nadal’s 14th French Open title and Alcaraz’s first last month – the crowd fell in love with “Nadalcaraz”, offering their support fervently as the Spaniards romped to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win over Argentine pair Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

Saturday’s match was a rare opportunity to see two of the game’s biggest names, each at opposite ends of their careers, on the same side of the net: Nadal with all his experience and the brilliance of 22 Grand Slam titles, and Alcaraz with his thriving career and high-octane style of play.

Beating two veteran doubles players was by no means easy, perhaps a sign of the limited time Nadal and Alcaraz have spent training and playing together. But it was nevertheless an entertaining introduction to tennis’ new favorite duo.

“It was an emotional and fun night with an amazing crowd,” Nadal told reporters. “Playing with Carlos on this court was very special. We are very happy with this win that gives us the opportunity to continue playing.”

Nadal has already taken centre stage at this year’s Olympics, having been named one of the final torchbearers for the opening ceremony last Friday.

Less than 24 hours later, he took to the court to put on a different show alongside Alcaraz, showing his sharpness and ball-handling skills. The Philippe Chatrier crowd chanted his name throughout the match, with one of the loudest cheers coming when he celebrated winning a match point by throwing the ball into the stands.

“Yesterday was a very emotional moment for me as well and I can’t thank Paris and France enough for giving me this honour. The emotions are still very high, so I’m enjoying every moment,” Nadal said.

The two teams traded breaks of serve early in Saturday’s match before engaging in a tight and long first set. Nadal and Alcaraz were only able to take the lead midway through the break of the first set, after chants of “Alice Blues” were heard at the news that France had won the gold medal in the rugby sevens.

Three straight points gave them a 6-3 lead, and Nadal took advantage of the opening with a powerful backhand down the sideline to close out the set.

That advantage seemed to be fading as Gonzalez and Molteni broke Nadal’s serve to go 3-0 up, but the Spaniards responded brilliantly, reeling off 12 straight points to level the match at 3-3.

After two more games, Nadal’s serve was broken, which Alcaraz executed with a cross-court backhand, before Nadal was able to close out the match.

The 21-year-old Alcaraz, who plays alongside one of his childhood idols, is in great form after winning titles at the French Open and Wimbledon in the past two months. Alcaraz began his Olympic singles campaign with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Lebanon’s Hadi Habib earlier on Saturday.

It was his first experience competing at the Olympics, while Nadal hopes to add to the two gold medals he has previously won – singles in 2008 and doubles in 2016. Now, as he enters the final phase of his career, it is as much about enjoying the experience as it is about winning titles for the 38-year-old.

His distinguished partnership with Alcaraz had only begun a few weeks ago, while Gonzalez and Molteni, who had played and won titles together several times during their long careers, provided a tough test early on.

“You see Rafa with his experience and his charisma,” Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya said before Saturday’s match. “And then you see Carlos, like Rafa when he was 20 or 21, very expressive and enthusiastic… We hope they continue together because this is a partnership that tennis fans can fall in love with.”

Nadal is still scheduled to play Hungarian Marton Fucsovics on Sunday, although there is uncertainty over whether he will make the singles draw. If he does, he could face Novak Djokovic in the second round, and he was quick to respond when asked if he was ready for the last dance against his great rival.

“Who said last dance?” he replied. And who could blame him when he still won on his favorite court, all to the applause of thousands of fans?