Nadal Alcaraz crashes into US wall and says goodbye to Paris Games in quarterfinals

The pair formed by Carlos Alcaraz and Rafa Nadal have said goodbye to the Paris Games after losing in the quarter-finals against the Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek by 6-2 and 6-4, in one hour and 39 minutes of play.

The matches of the two Spanish stars had undoubtedly become one of the biggest media focuses of the Games, only on par with the Olympic comeback of Simone Biles. You only had to see the appearance offered by the stands, packed with fans of very diverse origins who came with the firm intention of cheering on their idols.

That is why the organisation had chosen the Philippe Chatrier in two of their three matches despite it being a doubles match, something frankly unusual in any tournament, in which only the final, and occasionally a semi-final with local or very famous players, takes centre stage.

But ‘Nadalcaraz’ was another story. What was being experienced in the last few days at Roland Garros was an event that transcended the Olympic Games. The intensity with which each game, each point, was experienced was simply electrifying.

Against the tide from the start

That was very clear today in a match that went against the tide very early on, with an initial break by the Americans in the form of a goring that bled the Spaniards dry as the minutes passed, especially because Ram and Krajicek were being very solid on serve and continued to scare the rest.

The cries of «iuesei» -USA- were received with whistles by a large part of the crowd, who did not want to see Rafa and Carlitos fall, but a double fault by the Murcian translated into a second break that left the initial set in sight for the verdict (2-5). This time it was time to row against the tide and before one rival who was being very superior. Bad business.

The Spanish duo had a break point to get back into the first set, but they only saw a wall in front of them: the two American rackets that reached every corner of the court. The 2-6 was painful and forced an epic comeback.

The start of the second set was more promising, with a comfortable game for the Spaniards, who still couldn’t find the nerves of their rivals on return. The errors of Alcaraz and Nadal, undoubtedly nervous because of the worrying scenario, made things easier for Ram and Krajicek.

Each good point by the Spanish pair was received with enormous enthusiasm but the reality is that they didn’t even come close to that longed-for break, which would have reaffirmed their faith in the possibilities of a comeback that sounded as possible as it was far away.

What came instead was another ‘Yankee’ goring in the seventh game, which put the chances of victory in Aramaic, and on top of that with a controversial point that the chair umpire saw in despite the complaints of the Spaniards.

A last wasted bullet

Thus the tenth game was reached, in which Krajicek served to definitively put the bell on the cat. In the midst of a truly suffocating atmosphere, with a stadium completely lit up, the Americans had the necessary composure to save up to three break points and close the match with a tight ace. And they were fair winners, no doubt about it.

The trip has been beautiful but goodbyes, you know, are always painful. We will have to put all our eggs in Alcaraz’s basket, which rarely fails. It would be another way of taking up the baton from the great Rafael Nadal Parera 16 years after his individual gold in Beijing 2008.