“Nadalcaraz” win opener at Olympics, taking out No 6 seeds

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz made a strong start to their quest for Olympic gold as they beat Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, the No 6 seeds, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the first round of the men’s doubles at Roland-Garros on Saturday.

“Nadalcaraz” had the packed crowd inside Court Philippe Chatrier engaged throughout, coming from 3-0 down in the second set to clinch a straight-sets victory.

Nadal, who won doubles gold in Rio in 2016 with Marc Lopez, wore a strapping on his right thigh but showed no sign of problems with movement as he played well throughout.

Early break down, storming back

Alcaraz, less accustomed to doubles but in sensational form after winning Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, was a little less assured early on, dropping serve in the opening game. But the pair retrieved the break immediately and then, in the tiebreak, winning it 7-4.

Gonzalez and Molteni didn’t let their heads drop, though, and at the start of the second set, a break of the Nadal serve helped them to set up a 3-0 lead.

But the pair broke back again, breaking Molteni to love, as they levelled at 3-3. Molteni’s serve again proved to be the issue and Alcaraz clinched the break before helping Nadal to serve it out.

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