Rafael Nadal has probably played at Roland Garros for the last time, after he and his partner Carlos Alcaraz were ousted from the Olympics by a pair of American doubles specialists.
In a spectacular contest, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek overcame not only the most successful singles player of all time on this court, but what felt like 15,000 hostile fans as well.
It wasn’t that the Americans were unpopular; simply that no-one in the stands wanted to see Nadal go out. The closer the Spaniards came to elimination, the louder they yelled. The atmosphere resembled that of a rowdy Davis Cup tie, as the fans applauded missed first serves from the American duo as if they were screaming Spanish winners.
But go out Nadal did, nevertheless, after Krajicek pulled out the grittiest of service holds to seal the 6-2, 6-4 win and claim a place in the semi-finals. The last shot – a perfect Krajicek “can-opener” serve that hit the line and kept going for a clean ace – was met with almost complete silence.
Nadal and Alcaraz had already come through two rounds but this was a different level of opponent. The Americans had the legendary Bryan brothers in their player box, and frankly one wondered whether Bob and Mike could have improved on this note-perfect display.
Krajicek and Ram broke at the earliest opportunity, targeting Alcaraz at the net as Nadal served first. They were ruthless in their returning, and their own service games were so slick that they didn’t give up a single break.
The closest that the Spanish came to breaking serve was in the final game, when the fans were kicking up a huge rumpus. It felt like Krajicek was regularly having to wait for 30 seconds or more for the noise to die down before he served, and the chair umpire was reduced to helplessness as she kept saying “Please, please, the players are ready.”
In the face of heavy pressure from all sides, the Americans slipped back to 15-40. Yet their self-belief was never jolted. Playing under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier, and in front of a bunch of celebrities which included Irish golfers Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, they produced a level of tennis which should make them favourites for the title.
Nadal – who suffered a chastening 6-1, 6-4 loss to old foe Novak Djokovic in the second round of the singles event – has not offered any clarity on his retirement plans. It is uncertain whether he will return to the court where he won a mind-boggling 14 French Open singles titles.
When his injuries were at their worst, some 14 months ago, Nadal suggested that his 2024 would represent a farewell tour of the world’s great tennis venues.
As things have turned out, his season has delivered a mixed bag: patches of stronger form in between further physical setbacks. In May, he told French Open organisers not to prepare a goodbye ceremony for him, explaining that he couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t come back next year.
Meanwhile, the quarter-final opponents of Andy Murray and Dan Evans have been confirmed as another American pair, after Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul beat the Dutch duo of Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Roger on Wednesday afternoon.