A couple is not formed overnight. It is not enough to say “I love you” as if to say “good morning” to consider that two individuals have a relationship. Something more is needed. Among many others, the most basic need is time. To love and know each other less than tomorrow, more than yesterday, time to overcome the crises that appear along the way, whether the leitmotiv of the union is feelings or a common goal, as is the case of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal.
The two best Spanish tennis players in history are in that process, in the process of being something more than a “if I’ve seen you, I don’t remember you.” They need to mature as a couple and that is what they are doing, against the clock, in this Olympic tournament that has already qualified them for the quarterfinals, after defeating the Dutch. Wesley Koolhof and Tallon Griekspoor (6-4, 7-6 and 10-2).
The super tie break, decisive
But of course, couples face crises. And they must learn to overcome them. That is precisely what they did on this hot Tuesday in Paris against the Netherlands. They suddenly found themselves with the second set lost in the tie breakalmost without seeing it coming, and they reacted firmly to secure victory in the super tie break. They saw the precipice up close and embraced each other to avoid it. The couple’s first crisis was overcome.
If in their debut, against a more established pair like the Argentine González and Molteni, they were perceived (normally) as somewhat disorganized, more driven by their own individual talent than by true teamwork, in their duel this Tuesday under the stifling heat at the Suzanne-Lenglen they gave signs of being a coordinated and compact doubles pair. At least in the process of becoming one, even if it was more difficult for them to secure victory. The magic, of course, will have to wait, if it ever comes, for later.
In the second date, moreover, everything went by without the emotional factor with which they were showered by the public at the Philippe Chatrier. Everything was much more sober and academic, this time in front of a circumstantial and unusual couple on the circuit, which contributed to the growth of the Spanish duo, which only has left Two wins to secure an Olympic medal.
A set for each couple
It was a match, in any case, without flourishes or ostentation, a purist style written in sans serif typeface. The first set, played by both pairs without excessive risks, unraveled in the seventh game, when Alcaraz invented a winning right to seal a service break that the Dutch would not overcome (6-4).
Alcaraz, who started Sparky and agile on the net, Although somewhat erratic when it came to timing some of his moves, he began to fade away a bit in the second set, his arm becoming a little more cramped. It was then that Nadal invoked the trump card of veteran status to keep the situation under control.
They could not, however, prevent everything from going to the tie break and the Dutch from winning it, with an Alcaraz with signs of fatigue and a lack of clarity in their strokes. Wounded, they reacted to the crisis with brutal force, winning the super tie-break by a resounding 10-2.
Their rivals in the quarter-finals, one match away from the medal fight, will be the Americans Austin Krajicek (son of the former Dutch tennis player named Richard) and Rajeev Ram, who on Tuesday defeated the Brazilians Monteiro and Seyboth Wild in two tight sets (6-4 and 7-6).
Granollers and Carreño, eliminated
Nadal and Alcaraz remain as the only representatives in the men’s doubles draw, after the other pair, formed by Marcel Granollers and Pablo Carreno lost this Tuesday against the Australians Ebden and Peers (6-2 and 7-5). The women’s duet of Ebden and Peers did get their ticket to the quarterfinals Sara Sorribes and Cristina Bucsawho defeated the Argentines Carle and Podoroska (6-3 and 6-4). With Alcaraz’s singles, Spain therefore retains three chances of a medal in tennis at these Games.
