Carlos Alcaraz makes Olympic debut with victory

Carlos Alcaraz debuted in 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with the victory over the Lebanese Hadi Habib. 6-3, 6-1 in 70 minutes of play secured passage to the second round, where the winner of the duel between the British Cameron Norrie and Dutch Tallon Grixpoor.

Alcaraz made his debut as comfortably as he wanted on the first day of the double-date competition: singles debut in the morning and doubles debut in the afternoon, with his partner’s long-awaited debut Rafael Nadal.

Khabib, ranked No. 275 in the world, traveled to Paris 2024 to play in the men’s doubles and unexpectedly made history by withdrawing from the singles draw through injury Hubert Hurkacz and the order of play made him the first Olympic tennis player in Lebanese history.

It’s been two years since he last (and only) played in an ATP final draw, and he has never set foot at Roland Garros. Not for the previous ones.

“The first day I arrived, everything was new to me. I was a little confused, trying to figure out where everything was. And when I walked into the room and saw Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, it was like, ‘Wow, this must be a dream.’ ‘Someone wake me up,'” he said.

Khabib, backed by a crowd that wanted a more even match, left some good moments but lacked the ammunition to withstand the exchanges with Alcaraz. The Spaniard, sporting the first Eiffel Tower tattoo he wore to mark his Roland Garros victory, is already considering a doubles match with Nadal.

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