PARIS:Rafael Nadal advanced to the men’s doubles quarterfinals with Carlos Alcaraz, his partner, as Andy Murray miraculously returned from injury to deny him a third Olympic gold on Tuesday.
After a heated argument with the umpire, a distraught Coco Gauff was eliminated from the singles, but Iga Swiatek, the top seed for women, advanced easily to the round of eight.
In the men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev of Russia, who was competing as a neutral, joined defending champion Alexander Zverev in the round of 16 when Zverev defeated Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic in straight sets.
Roland Garros officials instituted a heat protocol, allowing a 10-minute pause between the second and third sets, due to temperatures skyrocketing into the mid-30s Celsius.
Only twenty-four hours after Novak Djokovic eliminated him from the singles tournament in their sixty-fifth match, Rafael Nadal returned to the court with Alcaraz in the “Nadalcaraz” dream squad.
Supported by an enthusiastic audience on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the Spanish duo dropped the second set but turned up the heat in the match tie-break to defeat Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands. 10-2 in two hours and twenty-two minutes, 6-4, 6-7 (2/7).
“We are having fun in general, even though we have been suffering. We enjoy playing together and creating positive synergies and energy.”
The 38-year-old, a 14-time winner of the French Open, has fallen to 161st in the global rankings as a result of ongoing ailments.
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Following his heartbreaking loss to Djokovic, he declared that he will decide his future following the Paris Games. There, he can still add to his gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics in singles and his 2016 Rio doubles victory.
Murray magic: In his farewell event, Andy Murray of Great Britain saved match points for a second straight round while competing in the doubles division with Dan Evans.
To advance to the quarterfinals, Murray and Evans defeated Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen of Belgium 6-3, 6-7 (8/10), 11-9.
Two days after saving five match points in their first-round triumph, they saved two more in the tense final-set tie-break.
Murray claimed that after securing the heartfelt victory, he shed “happy tears” on the court.
“I’m thrilled that we made it through yet another thrilling finish,” the three-time Grand Slam victor stated. That kind of stuff drains you completely. I’m happy that tomorrow is a day off, then.
Donna Vekic of Croatia earlier upset world no. 2 Gauff 7-6 (9/7), 6-2, but the match was marred by a protracted altercation between the chair umpire and the US Open champion.
At the conclusion of the sixth game of the second set, Gauff, who was carrying the American flag at the Olympic opening ceremony alongside NBA player LeBron James, got into a heated argument with the referee.
Gauff mishit a return from Vekic deep to his forehand at 30-40, which went into the net.
Vekic’s shot was signaled, but the chair umpire overturned the call, awarding the Croat the point and a vital break. Gauff claimed the first call jeopardized her opportunity.
“I always have to speak up for myself,” a tearful 20-year-old Gauff stated in court. “This game is cheating on me. You people don’t treat me fairly.
The 21-year-old world number one Vekic momentarily lost her nerve, going from 0-40 on her own serve to holding before breaking again.
Swiatek defeated Wang Xiyu of China 6-3, 6-4 to win her 24th straight match on the Paris clay courts. She will now play Danielle Collins of the United States.