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PARIS — The fans’ first standing ovation for Rafael Nadal occurred when he wasn’t even in their presence, merely an image shown on a video screen as he waited in a stadium hallway to walk out on the court used for the Paris Olympics and the French Open, a tournament he made his domain.
Nadal made a last-minute decision to remain in the singles bracket, a day after he won in doubles with partner Carlos Alcaraz and said he wasn’t sure if he would participate in both events. But after going through a morning practice session to test his fitness, he made the call to play, about 18 1/2 hours after Nadal and Alcaraz — Spain’s old-and-new pairing of tennis superstars — won the first match they’ve ever played together as a doubles team.
Nadal did not look like someone ready to be done, not at all, particularly at the beginning of the match. In the second game, Nadal sprinted, then slid, to deliver a stinging cross-court backhand that won a point and elicited some gasps from the audience. Nadal, actually, is without a Slam match win in 2024, too. He missed the Australian Open in January because of a hurt hip muscle near where his operation was, bowed out in the first round of the French Open in May against eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev, then sat out Wimbledon in July because he wanted to avoid needing to prepare to play on the grass courts there before switching back to clay for the Olympics.
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