Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts while playing with Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during the men’s doubles second round tennis match between Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands on Court Suzanne-Lenglen at Roland-Garros Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 30, 2024. (AFP)
Paris –Rafael Nadal kept alive his dream of a third Olympic gold medal on Tuesday, reaching the men’s doubles quarter-finals with partner Carlos Alcaraz as Andy Murray came back from another setback to win.
A tearful Coco Gauff was knocked out of the singles event after a heated exchange with the umpire but top seed Iga Swiatek advanced to the last eight in the women’s singles event.
In the men’s draw, defending champion Alexander Zverev reached the third round after beating Tomas Machak of the Czech Republic in straight sets and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, playing as a neutral player, also entered the last 16.
With temperatures reaching the mid-30s, officials implemented heat protocols at Roland Garros, allowing a 10-minute break between the second and third sets.
Nadal was back on court with Alcaraz in the “Nadalacaraz” dream team just 24 hours after being knocked out of the singles tournament by Novak Djokovic in the 60th round.
The Spanish pair, supported by a vocal crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen, lost the second set but prevailed in the match tie-break to beat Dutch duo Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 10-2 in two hours and 22 minutes.
“We enjoyed it because the score in the tie-break (of the match) was positive,” Nadal said.
“We are suffering but we are enjoying playing together, we are creating good chemistry and good energy, so yes, we are enjoying ourselves in general.”
The 38-year-old, a 14-time French Open champion, has been troubled by injuries in recent years and has slipped to 161st in the world rankings.
He said after his painful loss to Djokovic that he would decide on his future after the Paris Games, where he still has more chances to add to his singles gold at the 2008 Beijing Games and doubles win at Rio 2016.
Undead Magic
Britain’s Murray, playing the final tournament of his career in doubles with Dan Evans, saved match points for the second consecutive round.
Murray and Evans qualified for the quarter-finals after beating Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-3, 6-7 (8/10), 11-9.
He saved two match points in a thrilling final set tie-break, having saved five match points in his opening round win just two days earlier.
Murray said he cried tears of joy on court after securing the emotional win.
“We’re thrilled we managed to get another great finish,” the three-time Grand Slam champion said. “Things like this leave you very tired. So I’m glad we had a day off yesterday!”
Earlier, Croatia’s Donna Vekic beat women’s world number two Gauff 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 but the match was overshadowed by a lengthy argument between the US Open champion and the chair umpire.
Gauff, the United States flag bearer at the Olympics opening ceremony alongside NBA star LeBron James, had a lengthy argument with the official at the end of the sixth game of the second set.
At 30-40, Vekic hit a return shot to Gauff’s forehand, which the American hit into the net.
Vekic’s shot was ruled out, but the chair umpire overruled the decision and the Croatian was awarded the point, giving her a crucial break. Gauff argued that her shot was harmed by the initial decision.
“I have to advocate for myself all the time,” a tearful Gauff said in court. “I’m getting cheated in this game. You guys aren’t treating me fairly.”
World number 21 Vekic briefly lost her composure and fell 0-40 behind on her own serve but came back and broke again.
Swiatek won her 24th consecutive match 6-3, 6-4 against China’s Wang Xiyu on the clay courts of Paris and will next face American Danielle Collins.
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Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber of Germany, Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova and Zheng Qinwen of China also won.
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