Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz had a strong start in their pursuit of Olympic gold by defeating Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, the No 6 seeds, with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the men’s doubles first round at Roland-Garros on Saturday.
The duo, known as “Nadalcaraz,” entertained the crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier, coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set to secure a straight-sets win. Nadal, who won doubles gold in Rio in 2016, displayed excellent play despite wearing a strapping on his right thigh.
Alcaraz, less experienced in doubles but in great form after recent victories at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, faced some challenges early on by dropping serve in the opening game. However, they quickly recovered and won the tiebreak 7-4.
Although Gonzalez and Molteni took the lead with a break in the second set, Nadalcaraz fought back and leveled the score at 3-3 by breaking Molteni’s serve. Finally, with Alcaraz clinching the break, they managed to secure the victory.
