Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni received a very unwarm welcome onto Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Olympics on Saturday night as they were booed when they first stepped onto the court.
The No. 6 seeds are taking on the epic Spanish pairing of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in the first round of the men’s doubles.
And the fans inside the stadium made it clear that the Argentine duo would be battling more than just the two multi-Grand Slam champions, showing their allegiances by jeering Nadal and Alcaraz’s opponents.
Nadal and Alcaraz were first to step out onto the main showcourt at Stade Roland Garros on Saturday night. With the roof closed, the cheers were deafening as the Parisian spectators welcomed the 14-time French Open winner and the man who lifted the clay-court Grand Slam trophy early last month.
But it was a completely different reception for Gonzalez and Molteni, as the 15,000-strong crowd booed the sixth seeds when they followed the Spanish pair.
The jeers turned to cheers as Nadal and Alcaraz’s opponents got to their bench but the fans made their allegiances clear – they didn’t want to see a first-round defeat for the dream doubles team.
But the Argentine team quickly silenced the crowd and let their tennis do the talking as they chose to receive and broke in the very first game. The fans applauded when they took a 1-0 lead but there was a huge roar from the stands when Nadal and Alcaraz won the first two points of the next game.
And they got things back on track, breaking to level at 1-1 thanks to a double fault. It’s no surprise the Parisian fans have been so passionate about the Spanish team, as this could be Nadal’s last outing at Roland Garros.
The 38-year-old has been plagued by injuries for the better part of the last two years and he suffered a first-round exit at the French Open earlier this year, losing to No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev. Nadal is also a doubt for the singles draw at the Olympics. He is set to face Marton Fucsovics in the first round and his long-time rival Novak Djokovic already awaits in round two.
But Nadal has been sporting heavy strapping on his right thigh over the last few days and he took to the court wearing it for his doubles match. His coach, Carlos Moya, also confessed that the 22-time Major winner had suffered an injury “setback” and expressed his uncertainty over competing in the singles draw.
The former world No. 1 cancelled his singles hitting session with Zverev on Thursday and returned on Friday to practice doubles with Alcaraz. Nadal reached the final of the ATP 250 event in Bastad last week playing several lengthy matches, including a four-hour epic, and his heroics have likely caught up with his body.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz got off to a winning start in the Olympic singles event earlier on Saturday as he beat Hady Habib 6-3 6-1.
