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PARIS: Carlos Alcaraz overcame injury problems to reach the last 16 of the Olympic tennis singles on Monday and said he would give “100 per cent” in his doubles match against Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard, ranked third in the world, defeated Taron Grikspoor of the Netherlands 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) to remain in contention for the gold medal and add another to his four Grand Slam titles.
The 21-year-old Alcaraz will return to action on Tuesday, playing alongside Nadal and once again taking on Grikspoor, who is partnered with Wesley Koolhof.
“I’ve dealt with this pain in the past games, so I know what I have to do,” Alcaraz said of his groin pain.
“This is normal for tennis players because the sport is very demanding.
“I will work hard to recover and be ready to give 100% in the doubles match.”
Alcaraz, the current French Open and Wimbledon champion, had to leave the court to receive treatment on his right leg late in the second set and then had to save a set point.
In the next round of singles, he will face Roman Safiullin of Russia, who is participating in the Olympics as a neutral athlete.
Earlier on Monday, Alcaraz watched Nadal lose three straight sets to old rival Novak Djokovic in the pair’s 60th meeting.
The loss ended the injury-plagued Nadal’s hopes of winning a second singles gold medal after his triumph at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
However, Alcaraz could still help his compatriot win a second doubles gold medal after Nadal teams up with Marc Lopez at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“When Djokovic plays at this level, it’s really, really difficult to play against him,” Alcaraz said.
“He played very aggressively, didn’t make any mistakes, played very, very well. I think Nadal certainly didn’t play at his best level.”
“But when Djokovic is like this, he performs better.”
Grikspoor, 28, lost for the third time in three meetings with Alcaraz and has yet to win a set against the Spaniard.
“I don’t see anything wrong with him,” said the 28th-ranked Dutchman.
“He gave it his all in the tiebreaker. He didn’t fall or twist his ankle or walk again. For me, he’s still everywhere.” — AFP
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