“Please let the match get over quickly!” This must be exactly what Carlos Alcaraz’s fans are praying for as Tommy Paul and Corentin Moutet face off in the third round of the Paris Olympics. As the match unfolded, it became clear that Paul and Moutet were locked in a fierce battle, each rally more intense than the last. While entertaining, there was just one catch: the longer Paul and Moutet played, the shorter the time Alcaraz would have between his singles and doubles matches. And that wasn’t something Nadalcaraz fans wanted.

If there’s one person Carlos Alcaraz looks up to more than anyone else in the tennis world, it’s Rafael Nadal. So when he got the opportunity to partner with his idol to represent Spain at the Olympics, why wouldn’t he have jumped at the idea? After all, this was Rafa’s last Olympic appearance, and to give him the perfect farewell in Nadal’s favorite venue, Alcaraz dreamt of adding another gold to Rafa’s collection. So, after they finalized on ‘Team Nadalcaraz,’ won a couple of matches, and reached the quarterfinals, they’re one step closer to achieving that dream. But will the 21-year-old be able to perform at his best?

The thing is, Alcaraz is scheduled to play second on Court Suzanne-Lenglen right after Tommy Paul’s match, which started at 12:00 pm local time. The Spaniard’s doubles against American duo Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek is at 7:00 pm local time on Court Philippe-Chatrier. While 7 hours may seem like a long time, recovery is extremely important in tennis (or any sport, for that matter), especially considering how cramping due to lactic acid buildup can become a serious concern. And as important as playing doubles with Rafa is to Alcaraz, so is doing his best in the quest for singles gold, too.

So, with Paul’s match extending beyond 2 hours, the Spaniard’s singles encounter against Roman Safiullin would start only around 3:00 pm local time. Notably, Tommy Paul played a long doubles match alongside Taylor Fritz as they faced Canada’s Milos Raonic and Felix Auger Aliassime in the first round. The first set witnessed a thrilling tussle, ending with the longest normal tiebreak in Olympic history: 7-6(14) to the American duo. The first set between Paul and Moutet in the singles was quite similar, with Paul winning in a tiebreak, 7-6(5).

This has made the fans worry to the core as they felt that Carlos Alcaraz would have to play his matches in quick succession on Wednesday. Although he’s no stranger to playing two matches on the same day – having done that on the first day of the Olympics – the short time he’s bound to have between them today is concerning. And fans shared their thoughts on X.

Update: Tommy Paul defeated Corentin Moutet 7-6, 6-3 in 2 hours 17 minutes, becoming only the 10th American male to reach the Olympic quarterfinals in singles. 

 “No rest” for Carlos Alcaraz isn’t ideal for him or Nadalcaraz

One user wrote, “Tommy Paul is gonna force Carlos to play two matches without sufficient break 🥲🥲🥲.” More than Tommy Paul, it’s on the organizers. Scheduling the American to play the first match on Suzanne-Lenglen made sense, considering he had his own doubles to play at around 5:00 pm local time. What they could’ve done was start Alcaraz’s singles match on Philippe-Chatrier at the same time as Paul’s. This is precisely what another fan suggested.

“Why not put him on first on chartrier instead of Djokovic when he don’t have doubles? Joke.” Novak Djokovic kicked off play on Philippe-Chatrier against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer. Seeing as the World No. 2 isn’t playing doubles to prioritize his singles hopes, Carlos Alcaraz could’ve played there instead of Djokovic. Not to mention, the Spaniard also won the French Open on that court earlier this year. Speaking of the French Open and Djokovic, it looks like the scheduling issues have stayed the same in Paris.

The Serbian faced Lorenzo Musetti in the third round of the French Open – a five-setter that ended at 3:00 am. Djokovic didn’t get much time to recover before his Round of 16 encounter against Francisco Cerundolo, another five-setter, where he tore his right meniscus. Following that match, he withdrew. Coming back to Carlos Alcaraz’s medal hopes in Paris, Wednesday is bound to be a grueling day for the Spaniard.

Another user joined the fray and wrote, “Moutet-Paul is going to go long, and Carlos will have no time to recover between matches. Terrible stuff.” This further highlights the scheduling issues that players are facing at Roland Garros. In fact, Nadal also voiced similar concerns ahead of his men’s singles campaign: “I don’t understand the schedule; it seems outrageous to me.” The backlash continued, with another fan writing, “This scheduling is a joke.”

One more user depicted the ill effect of the long match on Alcaraz’s health: “if Paul doesn’t level up soon, Alcaraz has no rest before double.” Besides Paul, his opponent Moutet has also played long matches in this tournament. He faced India’s Sumit Nagal in the first round, which stretched to three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. Yet another user highlighted the woes that Alcaraz might face.

“The f**king Tommy Paul’s game is going to last 3 hours, and Alcaraz is going to have to play both games in a row.” Interestingly, Paul’s singles matches have not been extremely long, at least in the ongoing Paris Olympics. While he defeated Italy’s Luciano Darderi in an hour and 26 minutes, his second-round clash against Jakub Mensik lasted 1 hour and 11 minutes. 

Another user simply highlighted Alcaraz’s potential difficulty in presenting himself in both matches: “How does Alcaraz play at both?” As the 21-year-old gears up to witness one of the most physically draining days of his career, it would be interesting to see if he can overcome the dual challenge without jeopardizing his Olympic dream.

Update: Alcaraz won his singles match against Safiullin, 6-4, 6-2, but lost his doubles match with Rafa, 6-2, 6-4.