Spain's Rafael Nadal playing with Spain's Carlos Alcaraz returns to Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez and Argentina's Andres Molteni during their men's doubles first round tennis match on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Stadium at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.MARTIN BERNETTI/Getty Images
Nobody wanted to say it too loudly, but just about everyone seated in the court Philippe-Chatrier on Saturday had a feeling that they might be seeing Rafael Nadal play tennis for the last time. And where better than in Paris and on the clay courts of Roland Garros?
The Olympics has given Nadal a chance to make a triumphant return to the home of the French Open, the scene of 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles. But given his age – 38 – and history of injuries, it’s not clear how many more tournaments he has left and certainly this will be his last Olympics.
He’s entered here in the singles and in doubles, pairing up with fellow Spaniard, and current sensation, Carlos Alcaraz, who is making his Olympic debut at the age of 21. If anyone has inherited Nadal’s mantle it’s Alcaraz who’s fresh off two Grand Slam victories this year at Wimbledon and the French Open.
The duo played their first match together Saturday evening under a closed roof against the No. 6 seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni of Argentina.
The near-capacity crowd, which included tennis legend Billie Jean King, gave Nadal a massive cheer as he walked on to the court with his younger compatriot. Then they booed the Argentinians, leaving no doubt of their allegiance.
The Spaniards got off to a rocky start, getting broken in the opening game with Alcaraz serving. But they broke back and took the first set by winning a tie break 7-4. The second set opened in similar fashion only this time it was Nadal whose serve was broken. Once again, they fought back and won the match 7-6 (4), 6-4 with Nadal serving for the victory.
They left the court to even louder cheers, a standing ovation and shouts of “Rafa.”
After the match Nadal said he was “super happy” to advance to the next round. He added that Friday’s opening ceremony was an “emotional moment and I can’t thank Paris and France enough for giving me that honour. Emotions are very high and I’m just enjoying every single moment.”
Nadal hasn’t played much tennis since a series of ailments forced him out of the majority of last season.
He returned in April and later was ousted in the French Open in the first round by Alexander Zverev. He skipped Wimbledon to focus on clay for the Olympics and showed promise earlier this month by making it to the final of the Nordea Open in Sweden.
While he’s come to Paris determined to win a third gold – he won the singles gold in 2008 and the doubles in 2016 – there has been speculation that he could follow the example of another aging great. Andy Murray, who is 37, has announced that he will retire after the Olympics, and he’s pulled out of singles in favour of doubles.
The speculation that Nadal might do the same only increased after he participated in the opening ceremony on Friday night as a torch bearer, an event Alcaraz skipped to be better rested for Saturday.
The sense of history and the chance to watch one of the game’s best players take a final bow, brought many people to Roland Garros on Saturday evening and they came close to filling all 15,000 seats.
“It’s really good to see Nadal for the last time. I think it’s going to be the last time,” said Nacho Viza, who came to Paris from Barcelona. “And he’s passing the torch to Alcaraz.”
His friend Lourdes Tejedor, who is also from Barcelona, said she bought tickets for Saturday’s matches at Philippe-Chatrier months ago. She didn’t know which players she would see until the draws were announced last week. When she saw that the Nadal-Alcaraz match had been selected for Saturday, “it was a dream come true.”
“This is a very historical moment for Rafa and Alcaraz,” she said. “It’s amazing to be here.”
Nadal has played down any hints of pulling out of singles. He told reporters earlier this week that he was thrilled to be back in Paris. “Of course, Roland-Garros is, as everybody knows, this is the most special place in the world of tennis for me,” he said. “The Olympics are completely different to any other event. I’m just trying to enjoy every single moment.”
If he does play, he could face an early test in Novak Djokovic, who took less than an hour on Saturday to defeat Austria’s Matthew Ebden 6-0, 6-1. Nadal’s first singles match is on Sunday against Marton Fucsovics of Hungary. If he wins, he’ll play Djokovic next.
Alcaraz, too, was an easy winner on Saturday. He beat world No. 275 Hady Habib of Lebanon 6-3, 6-1, a few hours before his doubles match.
Saturday’s wet weather wiped out matches involving Canada’s contingent. Bianca Andreescu, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Gabriela Dabrowski and Leylah Fernandez were scheduled to play on outside courts and had their matches postponed to Sunday. Milos Raonic is to play his first match on Sunday as well.
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