Rafael Nadal, buoyed by enthusiastic crowd support, advanced towards his third Olympic gold medal on Tuesday by partnering with Carlos Alcaraz to reach the men's doubles quarterfinals at Roland Garros. The duo, dubbed "Nadalcaraz," triumphed over the Dutch pair Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof in a challenging match, winning 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 10-2. The packed Court Suzanne Lenglen resounded with chants of "Let's go Rafa, let's go," showing clear support for the Spanish team.
Despite being eliminated from the singles by Novak Djokovic the previous day, Nadal returned to the court with Alcaraz to loud applause. The pair put constant pressure on their opponents in the opening set, breaking serve in the seventh game with a powerful cross-court forehand from Alcaraz. They secured the set 6-4 after 54 minutes. Nadal, despite wearing strapping on his right thigh, displayed his characteristic athleticism and powerful forehands, contributing significantly to their victory.
In a tightly contested second set, both teams missed break opportunities, leading to a tie-break where the Dutch team prevailed. However, Nadal and Alcaraz dominated the match tie-break, winning 10-2 after two hours and 22 minutes. They now face US fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the quarterfinals. Nadal, aiming for his third Olympic title following his 2008 singles and 2016 doubles victories, is competing in just his seventh tournament of 2024, a season that has seen his ranking drop to 161.
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