Carlos Alcaraz admits he was finding it tough to “manage the stress” while playing doubles with Rafael Nadal at Paris Olympics

Nadal and Alcaraz locked horns with the Argentine pair of Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez to kick-start their campaign.

Carlos Alcaraz admits he was finding it tough to “manage the stress” while playing doubles with Rafael Nadal at Paris Olympics

Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)

What was going on in Carlos Alcaraz‘s mind when he played his first doubles match with Rafael Nadal at the Paris Olympics? The young Spaniard revealed he was stressed at first but somehow overcame it to enjoy playing in that electric atmosphere. 

Nadal and Alcaraz locked horns with the Argentine pair of Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez to kick-start their campaign at the quadrennial event on Saturday (July 27th). It wasn’t smooth sailing for the Spanish team as their opponents were not ready to give up easily.

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In the end, Nadal and Alcaraz prevailed over the Argentines with scores of 7-6(7-4), 6-4 to secure a berth in the second round. Alcaraz, who won his first French Open this season after a thrilling battle over Alexander Zverev and who also scripted history by winning four Grand Slam titles at 21 years of age, was finding it difficult to manage himself during the match for various reasons. 

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It’s not Rafa himself, but the situation. In the end, seeing the full Philippe Chatrier, playing with Rafa, for my first Olympics…it was a difficult moment to manage. I was nervous at the beginning, but as the match went on, I managed to manage the stress and in the end, as I said, we played great tennis and we really enjoyed this moment.
Carlos Alcaraz said at the press conference 

Alcaraz made his debut at the Olympics with a straight-set win over Lebanon’s Hady Habib just a few hours before his first doubles match with Nadal. The 21-year-old won the match against Habib with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-1. 

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Carlos Alcaraz

Rafael Nadal will lock horns with Marton Fucsovics in singles 

Rafael Nadal is scheduled to play in singles on Sunday (July 28), though at first there were doubts regarding his singles participation due to a thigh problem. After his first-round win in doubles with Carlos Alcaraz, Nadal had opened up about whether playing singles was still at the back of his mind. 

Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)
Tomorrow, I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know if I'm going to play or not.
Rafael Nadal told the press

If the reports are to be believed, the 22-time Grand Slam champion will play singles against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in the first round. And if Nadal reaches the second round, he will meet his longtime rival and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, who defeated Australia’s Matthew Ebden without breaking any sweat with scores of 6-0, 6-1. 

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