Rafael Nadal makes alarming Olympics confession as Carlos Alcaraz dream team declared ‘unfair’
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz launched their A-list doubles partnership in style with victory over sixth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni at Roland Garros – but Nadal then admitted he may not play in the singles event at Paris 2024.
Fresh from his starring role at the opening ceremony, Nadal was back doing what he does best on the stage he knows so well as he and Alcaraz claimed a 7-6 (4) 6-4 first-round victory in the men’s doubles.
He still had strapping on his right thigh and it remains to be seen whether the 14-time French Open champion will contest his scheduled singles match against Marton Fucsovics on Sunday but, on this evidence, Nadal and Alcaraz will take some stopping.
Nadal had played 116 matches at Roland Garros before this one, winning 112 of them, but none quite like this.
For a start it was his first doubles match on the Parisian clay, with his friend and heir by his side, and in front of a crowd as hyped as any for a French Open final.
There was a reminder this was a French not Spanish audience when Gonzalez and Molteni were booed as they walked onto court, tarnished by association with their disgraced football compatriots.
Nadal may be best known for his singles achievements but he is an experienced doubles campaigner, winning Olympic gold eight years ago with Marc Lopez.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, is a novice in the format and that was obvious at the start, with the 21-year-old dropping serve immediately and finding himself trying to play shots from among the court-side geraniums.
Gonzalez and Molteni are regular partners who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals this month but Nadal’s star power helped draw the Spanish pair level and they took the opening set on a tie-break, which was interrupted briefly by a big cheer for France’s win in the rugby sevens.
Nadal and Alcaraz made a slow start to the second set as well but clawed their way back from 0-3, Alcaraz, who has proved himself an exceptionally quick learner, now looking a lot more at ease.
It was the French Open and Wimbledon champion’s thumping return that earned his team the crucial break for 5-4, and Nadal comfortably served out the victory.
The appearance of two of the greatest male players the game has seen playing in tandem inspired former ATP star Mardy Fish to post a jovial message on X suggesting the combination had an unfair advantage over their rivals.
“I declare this team as not fair. Disqualify them for being too good immediately,” said Fish, who claimed a silver medal for Team USA at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he lost against Chile’s Nicolas Massu in the final.
The crowds in Paris cheered as two of the biggest sporting stars taking part in the Games took their first step towards what could be an iconic gold medal.
Yet hopes of a second round singles match-up between Nadal and his old rival Novak Djokovic at Paris 2024 may never become a reality after the Spaniard admitted he has yet to decide whether to play in the singles at the Olympics.
He is due to play on Sunday, but a thigh injury has put his participation in doubt and Nadal added to the rumours he may not play in the singles competition.
“I don’t know if I am going to play tomorrow,” he said after partnering Carlos Alcaraz to victory in the doubles at Roland Garros. “I will talk to my people and make the smartest decision that I can to have the best chance of bringing a medal home.”
Those comments suggest Nadal believes his best chance of winning a medal at his final Olympics will be in the doubles with Alcaraz and that could see him withdraw from the singles event in the coming hours.
