‘Nadalcaraz’ is already in the quarterfinals in Paris

The thermometer hits 35 degrees at almost six in the evening, the sun is beating down at Roland Garros, the orange alert has been activated in Paris due to the heat wave. In the stands, a dance of fans. On the court, the gladiators. Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz beat the Dutch duo Grieksspoor and Koolhof by 6-4, 7-6(2) and 10-2 in the super tie-breakerand advance to the quarter-finals, where they will face Americans Krajicek and Ram on Wednesday (19.00). The new Spanish duo, which is becoming more and more compact, continues to grow.

Alcaraz is a different person from the rookie who made his debut in doubles alongside Nadal in the first round, a nervous kid who sent balls out or into the net. This time he hits his forehands with force, without hiding his arm, a cannon shot in search of the lines. That’s how he defends that first serve that can generate some doubts, and he is a wall when the Dutch look for him, perhaps thinking that there could be a crack there. The Murcian takes the lead, the initiative of the points. The Spaniards aim at Griekspoor, the least expert in the matter, and they win some options, although not converted, against the rest in some first testing games.

The Spanish duo takes small bites, getting ever closer to their prey, until they break serve in the seventh stop of the first set, with a crosscourt forehand from Alcaraz that shakes the court. Nadal struggles in the next stop to keep his serve, because the Dutch also sharpen their exchange of shots, are aggressive in their tennis, and the Spanish duo huffs and puffs when they get over the rough patch. Little by little the two Spaniards, the legend and the heir, find some automatisms in their game, crossing one in front of the other, covering a rise to the net… In the celebrations they are like two clones, clenched fist, gritted teeth, the “let’s go!” that rises from the sand to the seats, with Zidane in the stands. Alcaraz opened the set on serve and Alcaraz closes it in the same way: 6-4.

Nadal then asks for a break to go to the locker room. Any respite is good for someone who has been doing so many kilometres and so many hours on his legs in recent weeks, and is also injured in his right thigh, which is bandaged. The Balearic player is going from less to more, from those first tests under the shelter of Alcaraz, a shot of energy, to sharing the role of protagonist. The Dutch pair hangs on Koolhof above all, more accustomed to these two-on-two encounters than his colleague. Among the men in red, Nadal is comfortable at the net, a position that requires less wear and tear. The combo is powerful. Carlitos Alcaraz sweeps the baseline, a roadrunner who never tires, or so it seems, no matter how many turns he is given, and Nadal moves freely next to the tape, ready for the dunk, covered in sand as he rolls on the floor.

The two teams kept their serve well into the second set, strong on serve but not very spicy on return. Until Alcaraz had a bad time on serve, the Spaniards hampered by some errors in understanding. It was 4-4 and in the next step it was Griekspoor who emerged after a 15-40, and later Koolhof who was struggling to maintain the advantage at the start of the games. The set ended in a tie-break and there the Dutch were rock and won easily, but they had to kill Nadal and Alcaraz twice, who were no longer willing to give up any more and they burned in the super tie-break, 10-2, after 2h 21m.

Nadalcaraz, the youngest member of the pair (21 years old to the maestro’s 38) christened this invention that, until stepping onto the clay at Ronald Garros, had never played an official match together, nor had they even coincided in the same Davis Cup squad. The contraption is taking shape, already in the third round of the draw, favoured from now on also by Nadal’s elimination in the singles. The warrior needs rest. The Balearic player rowed as far as his strength would go, a last dance in Paris with Novak Djokovic, who showed no mercy or trace of romanticism and swept him aside in a duel only made up at the end by the champion of 22 majors, 14 of them in Paris.

Alcaraz will compete in the third step of the draw this Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. against Roman Safiullin, a Russian who competes on the AIN team, Neutral Individual Athletes.

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