Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram’s Victory Ends Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz’s Paris Olympic 2024 Dream
The doubles specialists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram defeated the duo of Carlos Alcaraz to Rafael Nadal to end their Olympic Gold Medal dream.
Although Alcaraz is still in the running for the singles title, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, two experts in doubles, defeated the Spanish pair one match short of the medal rounds on Wednesday.
Rafael Nadal’s hopes of winning a third and possibly last Olympic medal were dashed on Wednesday when legendary countryman Carlos Alcaraz, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, withdrew from the men’s doubles competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. In the quarterfinals, No. 4 seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram defeated Nadal and Alcaraz 6-2, 6-4, leaving them one victory short of the medal rounds.
After a fiercely contested win on Tuesday in the second round, the Spanish dream team stormed into the last eight. However, their relative lack of doubles practice proved to be a hindrance to Krajicek and Ram, who defeated the unseeded pair in 98 minutes at the Court Philippe-Chatrier.
As a 14-time Roland Garros champion, Rafael Nadal is a two-time Olympic champion who won gold in singles and doubles in 2008 and 2016 (with Marc Lopez), respectively. It looked as though Nadal would make his final Olympic appearance in Paris.
Nadal, who has stated he will retire at the end of the year, lost to former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles. Nadal then turned all of his attention to doubles alongside Alcaraz, who has hardly played doubles during his incredible ascent to the top of the men’s game.
The 21-year-old is fresh off back-to-back significant wins at Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Earlier in the day, he defeated Roman Safiullin to advance to the men’s singles quarterfinals. However, before the Olympics, Alcaraz had only ever participated in seven doubles competitions.
With two wins against No. 6 seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni of Argentina and a 10-point tiebreaker victory over Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof, Nadal’s vast experience helped reduce the gap.
Ram and Krajicek presented a very different challenge: both Americans have won major titles in men’s doubles over the past four years (Ram winning three consecutive US Open titles with Joe Salisbury, and Krajicek winning the 2022 Roland Garros with Ivan Dodig). They have also been remarkably effective together, winning their first two matches without dropping a set.
En route to a resounding triumph over their esteemed opponents, the No. 4 seeds carried that momentum into a drama-free opening set. Nadal and Alcaraz, trailing a break in the second set, overcame a tense exchange with umpire Miriam Bley and staged a heroic final fight, hanging on to have the Americans serve for the tournament.
Also Read: Roland Garros Champions Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek Triumph in Paris Olympic 2024 Openers
The pro-Spanish crowd erupted into cheers as Nadal squeezed Krajicek into a poor volley, giving them three break point possibilities. Ram’s deft stab volley gave Krajicek and Ram the opportunity to match point after they combined to save all three, making them four for four on break point saves.
The Spaniards responded in kind, but Krajicek and Ram remained unfazed and used a powerful lefty serve to create a second match point. In just over ninety minutes, an ace finally gave them the advantage across the finish line.
With a heartfelt farewell to the Chatrier audience, Rafael Nadal hinted that he would not play on the court again, however it is unclear if he will follow through on his plan to retire at the end of 2024.
The Czechs Tomas Machac Adam Pavlasek, who upset No. 2 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz in a match tiebreaker, will be ready for the Americans in the semifinals.
