Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal continued their charge towards the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, beating Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof.
The Spaniards continued their doubles experience in the French capital after the first match they played, which went well. They won against the sixth-seeded Argentinian duo comfortably, but this match was a much bigger challenge because Koolhof is a former doubles World No. 1, while Griekspoor is generally a very skilled player.
We've seen the Dutchman give some trouble to Alcaraz in their singles match, even though the Spaniard was able to win in two sets. The 21-year-old himself had some physical issues in the match, which required a medical timeout, but he appeared on the court in this doubles match and looked fine.
The start of the match featured both teams holding onto their serve fairly well. Nadal and Alcaraz were very sure on their serve, barely dropping any points. The Dutch team had far more issues and had to save some early break points.
Still, after six games, the score was still 3-3, but the Spaniards were clearly playing better tennis. After wasting two break points earlier, the Spanish team found break points in the seventh game of the opening set and finally broke their opponents' serve, taking a 4-3 lead.
It was the moment they had been waiting for because, up until that point, they had been dominating; they just didn't really have a lead to show for it. The next game was the most complicated game for Nadal and Alcaraz up until that point because they faced break points.
It came after some nicely applied pressure from the Dutch team, but the Spaniards held firm and were able to save the breaking point and also confirm the break, making it 5-3.
It was hugely important for them not to drop the break they got immediately after getting it. They would ultimately hold their serve to win the opening set 6-4.
Limiting errors and serving spectacularly is part of the reason they won the opening set and were only one set away from the quarter-final. The second set opened without any early chances for either side because both teams were playing well on their serve.
The Dutch team seemed to have finally figured out how to play best, and it seemingly troubled their opposition. The first trouble came in the fifth game of the second set when Alcaraz and Nadal found some chances.
They couldn't use them, so the Dutch team held serve once more. It was a proper battle in every game as both teams tried hard to jump out ahead, but no breakthrough came, and the score was tied at 3-3 again.
The Dutch pairing had a break chance but failed to use it, which gave the crowd favorites the momentum back. They got break chances, but they were unable to use them, which left them visibly frustrated.
The set would have to be settled in the tie-break, and it wasn't a good one for Nadal and Alcaraz. They were just not sharp enough, as they lost it 2-7. The best player on the court was clearly Koolhof at that point.
However, that changed in the match tie-break, in which Alcaraz and Nadal jumped out to a 3-0 lead. They kept playing well and extended the lead to 7-1, ultimately winning the tie-break 10-2 to win the match 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-2.
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