Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz
Credit: Reuters Photo
Paris: Spain's dream team of Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz reached the quarter-finals of the Olympic men's tennis doubles with a 6-4 6-7 10-2 defeat of Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
A day after 14-time French Open champion Nadal was heavily beaten by Novak Djokovic in the singles, the 38-year-old bounced back with a commanding display alongside his compatriot.
The Spanish duo, dubbed Nadalcraz, delighted a packed and vociferous crowd on a sweltering Court Suzanne Lenglen arena as they combined their formidable firepower to keep their gold medal dream on course.
Alcaraz, 21, pummelled a forehand winner to get the crucial break of serve in the first set with Nadal roaring his approval.
Koolhof, a former doubles world number one, and Griekspoor provided stiff resistance in the second set before dominating a second-set tiebreak, winning it 7-2.
But a Nadalcaraz caught fire in the deciding third set, fist-pumping and roaring after a succession of electrifying winners as they blazed to victory.