Krajicek/Ram end Alcaraz/Nadal’s Paris Olympics hopes | ATP Tour

Paris Olympics

Krajicek/Ram end Alcaraz/Nadal’s Paris Olympics hopes

The Americans are the fourth seed

July 31, 2024

Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram ended the Paris Olympics run of Spanish stars Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal with a 6-2, 6-4 victory on Wednesday.

In the fourth round, Krajicek and Ram dominated the rallies with high-percentage shots while Alcaraz and Nadal made unforced errors in the early stages. The Americans remained the consistent team as the match progressed, breaking Alcaraz at love 3-3 in the second set.

Krajicek took the match at 5-4, starting the match with a double fault. With the packed crowd backing fan favorites Alcaraz and Nadal, the American duo kept their cool, saving three break points to avoid any late drama.

Krajicek went over to Alcaraz in the match zone, painting the sideline with a sideline piece of the ad, which was confirmed by the referee to have fed the line. Alcaraz and Nadal shared a hug before all four players hugged each other at the net.

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz embrace after their quarter-final loss.”>
^{Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz hug after their quarter-final loss. Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images}

Krajicek and Ram will continue their quest for a medal by meeting Czech semi-finalists Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek.

Alcaraz, making his Olympic debut in two days, advanced to the singles quarterfinals earlier in the day with a straight sets win against Roman Safiullin. Nadal fell in the second round to his old rival Novak Djokovic.