One of the most brilliant pairs in men’s doubles continued its performance at the 2024 Olympic Games: on Wednesday, July 31, Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz returned to the court. This time to compete for the semi-finals.
In the first round, the duo nicknamed “Nadalcaras” defeated sixth seeds Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez (7:6, 6:4). In the second match, the Spaniards defeated Dutch representatives Wesley Koolhof and Tallon Grixpoor (6-4, 6-7, 10-2). In a new match, the quarter-finals, Carlos and Rafa faced a difficult American pair, seeded fourth.
In the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games, the Spaniards faced Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. The first of the duo won Grand Slam tournaments four times (AO-2020, USO-2021, 2022, 2023). The second won only one major (Roland Garros – 2023). Both were leaders in the ranking in pairs.
The encounter between the Americans and the Spaniards began with Nadal’s suggestion and the American pair’s search for ways to outplay the Spaniards. The main and initially most effective tool was to fire tight balls to Alcaraz at the net. Carlos survived the first rallies at this pace, but in the rest of the game his defense let him down and the American duo managed an early breakaway. On the Spaniards’ next serve, Krajicek and Ram fired at Nadal’s net, and again it paid off.
The Spaniards had to work on tactics and outplay the Americans with non-standard shots and shifting the game to the baseline. However, Krycek and Ram acted united and coordinated in any conditions. Alcaraz and Nadal struggled to find opportunities to dominate, but in the first set these attempts were in vain. The opening match went to the American representatives (6-2).
Rajeev Ram, Austin Krycek
Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images
The match was roughly even in the first half of the second set, with the Spaniards holding their own, but not everything went as planned in the crucial seventh game on their serve. A few errors by Alcaraz, no points won, a brief argument between Nadal and the umpire over an ambiguous score, and Krajicek/Ram took the lead at the right moment (4:3). Throughout today’s match, it was clear how different the teamwork of the Americans is from the contact and understanding between the Spaniards.
With the score at 5:4 on the Americans’ serve, Rafa and Carlos fought back, earned break points and sent the crowd into a frenzy. Unfortunately, the Spaniards were unable to get back into the match. Krajiček and Ram won this match 6:2, 6:4.
For Nadal, this match was probably his last at the Olympic Games. At the start of the tournament, Rafa was asked about the end of his career and his last performance at the Olympics, but the Spaniard did not give a concrete answer.
“Every day, right? Every day, every day you want me to finish my career (he smiles). You ask me this every day. You know, I try to do my best every day. I can’t live every day with the feeling that this match will be my last. I came here, I do my best, I play. And when I decide to stop playing or, on the contrary, to keep playing, I will let you know! I don’t know, I just try to give my all every day, to enjoy what has given me pleasure for so long. I have had a lot of injuries in the last three years. If I feel that I am not competitive enough to continue, or if I am not strong enough physically, I will finish and I will let you know. But every day I don’t think about retiring or not,” Nadal said at a press conference in Paris.
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In any case, Rafael has been talking about retiring from his career for the past year, so it would be worth remembering his previous Olympic results. The Spaniard has two gold medals at the Games: the first in singles in 2008, the second in pairs with Mark Lopez in 2016. This year, in singles, Nadal only made it to the second round, where he lost to Novak Djokovic (1-6, 4-6). After the defeat in pairs, Rafa did not say goodbye, but the crowd gave the Spaniard a standing ovation.
