Olympic moment of the day: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, tennis’ new favorite duo

Roland Garros, Paris
CNN
—

After all these years, Rafael Nadal still finds new ways to win matches on his favorite tennis court.

His last victory on the French clay was achieved together with Carlos Alcaraz at the Olympic Games in Paris. Together they formed a dream couple: a two-for-one ticket for tennis fans and a moment that could only really happen at the Olympic Games.

For nearly two hours, the crowd at Court Philippe-Chatrier, where Nadal has won 14 French Opens and Alcaraz his first last month, fell in love with “Nadalcaraz” and gave the Spanish duo wild support during their 7-6(7-4) 6-4 victory over Argentina’s Máximo González and Andrés Molteni.

Saturday’s match was a rare chance to see two of the biggest names in the sport, at opposite ends of their careers, on the same side of the net: Nadal with all the experience and polish of his 22 Grand Slam titles, and Alcaraz with his blossoming career and dynamic style of play.

The win against two seasoned doubles players was by no means easy, probably a sign of the limited time Nadal and Alcaraz have spent training and playing together, but it was nonetheless an entertaining introduction to tennis’ new favorite doubles act.

“It was an emotional night, an exciting night, a great crowd,” Nadal told reporters. “Playing with Carlos on this court was so special. We’re just super happy with the win, that it gave us the chance to go through.”

Nadal has already taken centre stage at this year’s Olympics, when he was chosen as one of the final torchbearers for the opening ceremony on Friday evening.

Less than 24 hours later, he was on court to put on a different kind of show alongside Alcaraz, showing sharpness and a deft touch at the net. The crowd in Philippe-Chatrier chanted his name throughout the match, and one of the loudest roars was when he celebrated the winning match point by pumping a ball into the stands.

“Yesterday was also a super emotional moment for me and I can’t thank Paris and France enough for that honor,” Nadal said. “The emotion is still very high, so I’m just enjoying every moment.”

The teams traded breaks of serve early in Saturday’s match before engaging in a tense and lengthy first set. It wasn’t until midway through the first-set tiebreaker, after chants of “allez Les Blues” followed by news that France had won gold in rugby sevens, that Nadal and Alcaraz took the lead.

Three straight points gave them a 6-3 lead, and Nadal seized the opening with a powerful backhand return down the line to seal the set.

That advantage looked set to disappear when González and Molteni broke Nadal’s serve to take a 3-0 lead, but the Spaniards responded with style, scoring the next 12 points in a row to level the score at 3-3.

Two games later, another service break followed, which Alcaraz caused with a cross-court backhand, before Nadal could end serve for the match.

The 21-year-old Alcaraz, who plays alongside one of his childhood idols, has been in stunning form, having won titles at the French Open and Wimbledon in the past two months. He began his Olympic singles campaign by beating Lebanon’s Hady Habib 6-3 6-1 earlier on Saturday.

That was his first taste of Olympic competition, while Nadal hopes to add to the two gold medals he won previously – in singles in 2008 and doubles in 2016. As he enters the final phase of his career, it’s as much about enjoying the experience for the 38-year-old as it is about winning titles.

His all-star partnership with Alcaraz has only been in the making for a few weeks, while González and Molteni, who have played and won titles together several times in their long careers, presented a tough test early on.

“You see Rafa with his experience and charisma,” Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moyá, said before Saturday’s match. “And then you see Carlos, a bit like Rafa was 20 or 21, very expressive and exuberant … hopefully they can continue because it’s a partnership that tennis fans can fall in love with.”

Nadal is still scheduled to play Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics on Sunday, despite uncertainty over whether he will play in the singles. If he does, he could face Novak Djokovic in the second round, and he had a quick answer when asked if he was ready for one last dance with his great rival.

“Who said last dance?” he shot back. And who can blame him when he’s still winning on his favorite course, all to the applause of thousands of fans?