2024-08-22 03:26:32
Paris: Rafael Nadal has expressed his displeasure with the schedule of the Paris Games, leaving his participation in the opening singles match in doubt after his victory in the men’s doubles opener with Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal, who entered the second round after beating sixth seeded Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6, 6-4 in his doubles match with Alcaraz, finished around 10 pm on Saturday, while his singles match is scheduled to be played on Sunday at 2 pm.
Nadal told the media in Paris on Saturday evening, ‘Match at 2:00 pm? I don’t understand the schedule. It seems insulting to me when I am playing at two o’clock.’ Nadal also suffered a thigh injury during training. He played the entire one hour 47 minute match with tape on the upper part of his right leg. However, this did not affect his game.
If Nadal enters the singles event, his opponent will also be Hungary’s Fucsovics. If Nadal wins this match, he will face Novak Djokovic in the next round. 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic won the match against Australian Matthew Ebden 6-0, 6-1 in 53 minutes to reach the second round.
Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who has won two gold medals in the Olympics, said- I don’t know if I will play tomorrow or not. I have to go back to the village and talk to the team, I will make the decision that I think will be best for Spain to have a chance to get the result.
Alcaraz and Nadal made a great start to their much-anticipated doubles debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday. On this match they were – the match was of the highest level. I think we played well and in the decisive moments, we played with the right determination. The opponent was a very consolidated pair, one of the best in the world. It was a tough match, we enjoyed it.’