“You don’t win doubles just by being a name” : Carlos Alcaraz on the pressure of winning a gold medal at Paris Olympics
The dream team of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal have stormed into the quarterfinals of the Doubles event at the Paris Olympics. The Spanish team defeated the Dutch pair of Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof in the second round via a final set tiebreaker.
Carlos Alcaraz stated that just by being big names in the world of singles tennis does not guarantee you a medal in the Doubles events. The Spaniard, who is currently the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion stated that there are certainly expectations from the Spanish pair to go on and win a gold medal.
Rafael Nadal has already claimed a gold medal in the Doubles event back in 2016, when he won it alongside Marc Lopez in Rio. “People obviously want us to win gold in doubles, but that’s normal. We try not to think too much about it, about the pressure or that we have the obligation to do it… Obviously, you don’t win doubles just by being a name, so anything can happen,” said Alcaraz.
“We have been getting along well” : Rafael Nadal on his partnership with Carlos Alcaraz
Rafael Nadal revealed that his partnership with Carlos Alcaraz was going pretty well currently. The veteran stated that none of them play Doubles regularly, hence catching up to the pros could pose a challenge as the tournament progresses.
“We have been getting along well, today more than the other day. Neither of us play too many doubles, so as the days go by we are improving, although the risk is always there when you play against established doubles players,” Rafael Nadal told Eurosport.
Carlos Alcaraz also reached the quarterfinals of the Men’s Singles event, as he defeated Roman Safiullin in straight sets in the third round on Wednesday. The Spaniard is the certain favorite to claim the gold medal in the absence of world number one Jannik Sinner. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal was knocked out in the second round by his long time rival and top seed Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
