The hopes of an Olympic medal for Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz fell apart when they lost to American fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the quarterfinals of the doubles competition.
A large audience under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier encouraged the Spanish pair, who have been one of the main draws of the Roland Garros tennis tournament.
However, Krajicek and Ram, two of the top doubles players in the world, proved their mettle in the format by winning 6-2 6-4 this time, matching them match-winning.
With gold in both singles and doubles, Nadal wanted to round off his Olympic career with a third medal. However, he and Alcaraz were unable to overcome a strong doubles team.
Nadal talked about it and said: “It was disappointing to not bring back a medal for Spain but that’s it. I tried my best in every single minute that I was on the court, but it was not enough to achieve our goals. If that’s the last time, it’s an unforgettable feeling and emotion. They give me love and support every single second that I am on the court. It’s super, super special to feel that in particular in this place. At this stage of my career, I play for feelings; I play for emotions more than for results.”
Alcaraz thanked Nadal after the loss and wrote on X: “Thank you very much, Rafa, for this week and for sharing a clue with me while playing for Spain! Today could not be, but I take a lot of things for the future! It’s been very special!”
Alcaraz in Paris, ranking, and results in 2024
Currently ranked no.3, Alcaraz owns a composed 36-6 win-loss record in 2024. Carlos is currently playing in Paris where he beat the world no.274 Hady Habib 6-3 6-1
, the world no.28 Tallon Griekspoor 6-1 7-6(3) and the world no.66 Roman Safiullin 6-4 6-2.Carlos Alcaraz will compete against the world no.332 Gabi Adrian Boitan in the . They have never competed against each other until now on the main tour.
Carlos conquered 3 titles in 2024 in Indian Wells, French Open and Wimbledon.
Alcaraz won 16 titles in his career: 4 on hard courts, 8 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 3 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Ranked world no.161, the Spaniard played his last match on the 29th of July when he lost to world no.2 Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4 in the 2nd round in Paris (draw).
Until now, during this year Rafael has a compiled 12-7 win-loss record. Rafael Nadal’s best achievement of the current season was getting to the final in Bastad.
Nadal is scheduled to compete next at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 26th of August.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal fought against each other 3 times. Their actual head to head record is 2-1 for Nadal. Previously, the last time they played each other, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in May 2022.
In the following video you can watch the key moments of their match.