“It seems outrageous to me” – Nadal unhappy with Olympics scheduling but will play singles

Rafael Nadal has expressed his displeasure at the scheduling of the Paris Games, after discovering his singles match is to be played at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

The Spaniard’s doubles match alongside Carlos Alcaraz concluded at close to 10 p.m. on Saturday night.

“A 2:00 p.m. game? I don’t understand the schedule,” Nadal told reporters on Saturday evening in Paris. “It seems outrageous to me when I’m playing at two o’clock,” he continued. “I don’t know if I’ll play tomorrow. I’ll have to go back to the village and talk to the team, I’ll make the decision that I think is most appropriate to have a chance of getting results for Spain. Sometimes less is more.”

But Nadal came through a practice session on Sunday morning and is set to play his singles match against Marton Fucsovics, as planned.

Nadal happy with level in opening doubles match

While Nadal was unhappy with the Olympics’ scheduling, he was pleased with the level that he and Alcaraz produced in their first doubles match together.

“The match was of the highest level,” declared the 38-year-old.  “I think we played well and in the decisive moments we played with the right determination. The match was of the highest level, the rivals were a very consolidated pair, one of the best in the world. It was a difficult match, we enjoyed it but also suffered at times.”

Nadal and Alcaraz – dubbed ‘Nadalcaraz’ – face either Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof, or Fucsovics and Fabian Marozsan, next.

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