Carlos Alcaraz took a medical timeout for what he said is a lingering groin muscle issue in the second set of his 6-1, 7-6 (3) singles victory over Tallon Griekspoor at the Paris Olympics.
Alcaraz is scheduled to play doubles for Spain with Rafael Nadal on Tuesday - and the opponents happen to be the Dutch pair of Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof.
“It’s a pain that I’ve been dealing with. I know what I have to do ... To deal with this pain,” said Alcaraz, a 21-year-old who won the French Open at Roland Garros, the same site being used for Olympics tennis, last month, and Wimbledon this month.
“I will try to recover as soon and as (best) as I can tonight,” he said, “to be ready ... 100 percent tomorrow in my doubles.”
Alcaraz said he watched part of Nadal’s 6-1, 6-4 loss to Novak Djokovic in singles earlier Monday, before preparing to face Griekspoor.
“When Djokovic is playing at this level, it’s really, really difficult to play against him. Really aggressive, no mistakes, moving very, very well,” Alcaraz said. “I saw Rafa playing decent, let’s say. Not his best tennis, for sure. But when Djokovic is like this, he’s almost unbeatable.”
That last word is one often used to describe Alcaraz, who was the first teenager to reach No. 1 in the ATP rankings, was the youngest man to win major titles on hard, grass and clay courts, and defeated Djokovic in each of the past two Wimbledon finals.
“One of the best players there is,” Griekspoor said about Alcaraz. “Someone who likes to play on this court. He made it very difficult for me in the first set.”
That was clear.
But in the second, Griekspoor began to serve better and hit more aggressively, and suddenly it was a much tighter match. After Alcaraz left the court with a trainer while trailing 5-4 in that set, he returned and was a single point from being pushed to a third.
Griekspoor couldn’t convert that chance, which Alcaraz erased with a volley winner that he celebrated with a right uppercut and a yell of “Vamos!” Soon, in the tiebreaker, he was back in full control.
“I didn’t see any problems with him,” Griekspoor said when asked how Alcaraz seemed in the second set. “I don’t know what the problem was, but it’s not like he fell down or twisted his ankle and couldn’t walk anymore. He was still all over the place.”
Griekspoor said he would prepare for the rematch of sorts by going back and taking a look at the first-round doubles victory for Nadal and Alcaraz to help figure out a game plan.
Giant barrels and steady swells for men’s third day of surfing competition
Teahupo’o (France), Jul 30 (AP) With the ceremonial blow of a conch shell and blare of a judge’s horn, the third day of the Paris Olympics surfing competition in Tahiti began on Monday with the men’s surfers going head-to-head, some reaching the end of the road in their quest for gold.
Stunning waves and steady swells in the morning heats brought a fresh surge of energy to competitors and spectators, after Sunday’s lackluster conditions, while conditions rapidly tapered around midday due to a storm, postponing the women’s afternoon competition.
“Today is probably gonna be one of the most exciting days ... There’s some serious waves out there,” said Jordy Smith from South Africa, who lost to Peru’s Alonso Correa in the day’s first heat. “I got pounded a couple of times.”
Coming out of a barrel and riding across a wall of nearly 10-foot cerulean blue water, French Polynesian surfer Kauli Vaast raised his arms to the air, an enormous smile on his face as he cruised to victory in his heat, knocking out Griffin Colapinto from the United States.
“I just came out, after a great ride, great takeoff and great wave,” Vaast said. “That one felt good, and I was just too happy and and enjoying the moment.”
Colapinto’s loss was the first for the U.S. Team during the Paris Olympics surfing competition, after the entire team won their heats the first day of competition thus directly qualifying for Monday’s round. John John Florence from the U.S. Was also eliminated from the competition.
Brazil also suffered its first surfer being knocked out of the competition, after Filipe Toledo lost to Japan’s Reo Inaba.
Gabriel Medina from Brazil made Olympic history on the waves, receiving the highest score in Olympic surfing history - a 9.9, just shy of a perfect 10. After the ride he launched himself into the air, raising his right arm and pointing towards the sky in a gravity-defying moment.
At times water safety patrol staff on jet skis pulled surfers from the water after their rides, towing them to calmer waters before jetting them back out to the wave.
“It’s really dangerous out there. It’s super shallow ... You can see the corals,” Medina said after his win against Kanoa Igarashi from Japan.
On land, emotions ran high. Expletives were commonly heard from losing surfers coming back to shore. Broken boards, snapped from the power of the waves, were laid on the ground and inspected by teams shaking their heads. Staff of opposing teams going head-to-head whistled in awe and clapped at their opponents rides, marveling as surfers reappeared from being inside heavy barrels of water.
Blustery winds swept in around midday, turning the surf conditions sour, marring the mens’ final heats and causing the women’s competition being postponed.
Monday was the last men’s competition day before the quarterfinals, semifinals and gold medal heats take place on the fourth and final day of competition.
Correa from Peru, Inaba from Japan, Joan Duru and Vaast from France, Joao Chianca and Medina from Brazil, Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson from Australia all qualified to compete in the final day of the men’s competition.
The rest of the competition functions as a single-elimination, head-to-head bracket. Each heat will feature two surfers, with the winner advancing to the final stage of competition: the quarterfinals, semifinals and final gold medal heat.
The next competition day will be determined after officials assess wave conditions.
