The Spanish duo, candidates for gold, defeated Andrés Molteni and Máximo González, one of the most established pairs on the circuit, 7-6 and 6-4.
The Spanish Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz They defeated the experienced Argentine duo formed by Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni and advanced to the second round of the doubles tournament tennis of the Olympic Games of Paris 2024to the delirium of a packed central court Roland Garros. Coach Guillermo Coria decided not to bring Horacio Zeballos, a benchmark in the category.
In an intense match, the Spaniards showed their individual ability in the decisive moments to take the victory by a tight 7-6 (4) and 6-4 that partially clears up the doubts about the physical condition of Rafa Nadal, who played with a bandage on his right leg due to his abductor discomfort.
The first set was tied, forcing a tie-break. There, Nadal took one of his best parallel balls of the match to take the lead.
Made up of two veterans from the ATP’s Top 20 doubles, the Argentine duo kept their focus and quickly took a 3-0 lead in the second set. But the Spaniards recovered with a comeback in the duo’s twenty-something game that made it possible for them to go 5-4 and come close to winning.
With the crowd devoted to the two Spaniards, who together have 26 Grand Slam singles titles, Nadal once again brought out his experience to close out the duel and stay in the running in Paris.
Earlier, Alcaraz made his Olympic tennis debut with a resounding victory over Lebanese Hady Habib (ranked 275 in the world) with a 6-3, 6-1 win.
The expectation now is to find out whether ‘Rafa’, 14-time champion on Parisian clay, endured the duel without feeling the discomfort that shook Paris on Wednesday.
If his physique allows it, he will make his singles debut against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
Source: Ambito
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