Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz get Olympic dream off to winning start after apologising to angered opponents
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are through to the next round
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The blockbuster pairing of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz got their Olympics doubles campaign off to a winning start as they defeated No 6 seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni on Saturday.
The Spanish duo were greeted to huge cheers from the packed crowd inside Philippe-Chatrier and they faced a difficult opening-round clash against the No 6 seed pairing.
Molteni and Gonzalez are currently ranked 14th and 18th in the world in doubles respectively and have made the quarter-finals in two Grand Slams together.
There was also a vast difference in experience on the doubles court between them with the Argentine duo playing a combined 813 matches between them while Alcaraz was playing just his seventh competitive doubles match.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are through to the next round
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The Argentinian duo were going to need to draw on all their experience to drown out the noise inside Philippe-Chatrier with all the support for their opponents.
And they got an early break in the very first game to put Nadal and Alcaraz on the backfoot.
But the Spanish pair quickly got up to speed in the very next game as they combined to quickly break back and get the crowd off their feet.
Molteni and Gonzalez had more opportunities to break serve later in the set, but Nadal and Alcaraz held their nerve before forcing a tiebreak.
The Spanish tennis superstars were the benefactors of a huge slice of luck when Alcaraz's smashing forehand brushed the top of the net with Gonzalez unable to react to give them a mini break.
Gonzalez was visibly angry after the misfortune against him with Nadal apologising to his opponent at the net.
And they were able to make it count in the end with Nadal hitting a sensational backhand winner down the line to take the first set.
All that momentum was lost in the second set though as Gonzalez and Molteni managed to recompose themselves for a strong hold of serve before breaking Nadal for the first time in the match.
Rafael Nadal is playing in his last Olympics
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They consolidated the break to quickly open up a 3-0 lead, but Nadal and Alcaraz once again recovered after breaking to love.
That saw Alcaraz and Nadal regain the momentum with Gonzalez and Molteni battling to hold serve in their very next game.
They did manage to keep their opponents at bay, but not for long as Alcaraz hit a stunning cross-court backhand winner to break and take the lead in the second set.
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The Spanish duo benefitted from a fortunate bounce off the net cord in the first set
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That left Nadal serving for the match with the sellout crowd inside Philippe-Chatrier raising the roof to show their support.
The Spanish duo opened up two match points with the Argentina players managing to save the first.
But Alcaraz grabbed the match winner on the next point with a reactive winner at the net before embracing Nadal as they booked their spot in the second round.