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Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are still alive at the Paris Olympics! The Spaniards fought hard and produced trademark moments of magic on Tuesday to earn a thrilling 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-2 win against Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof and reach the quarter-finals.

Nadal was in relaxed mood ahead of the clash, with the 38-year-old cuddling his son in the warmup area before the match. The 92-time tour-level titlist then took to court alongside a pumped-up Alcaraz, with the pair receiving raucous cheers from all corners of the stadium.

Dressed in Spanish red shirts and white shorts, Alcaraz and Nadal applied early pressure and gained the decisive break of a high-quality first set when Alcaraz blasted a bullet forehand crosscourt to break Koolhof’s serve. Both let out a roar, bounced to their chairs and took in the support from the crowd, with Spanish flags spread around Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Alcaraz and Nadal fist-pumped their way through the match, while the crowd regularly leapt to their feet to cheer Nadal’s banana-curling forehand winners and Alcaraz’s lightning-fast hands at the net. In hot Parisian conditions, the Spaniards caught fire in the Match Tie-break. Under pressure, Nadal lifted his level and imposed himself on Griekspoor and Koolhof, striking with intensity on return and finding acute angles to help drive him and Alcaraz to victory.

Nadal is a two-time gold medalist (2008 Beijing singles, 2016 Rio doubles w/ Marc Lopez) and played the role of mentor throughout the clash in Paris. He offered frequent words of encouragement to the 21-year-old Alcaraz, who improved throughout and showed why he is a four-time major champion with a number of explosive winners off the forehand wing and effective moves to the net.

After Wimbledon champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten defeated Ivan Dodig and Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-5 in front of a packed crowd Monday evening at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, the teams shook hands and Heliovaara turned to thank the crowd.

“Is anyone going to say [anything]? Give us a clap come on, give us a clap. Yes!” Heliovaara said in a funny moment. “Thank you, thank you. Woohoo! Let’s go Finland!”

The moment was captured because Heliovaara, in an ATP Tour-first, wore a live microphone during the match. As part of the 2024 ATP Tour Doubles Trial, players this week in Washington will be wearing microphones so fans can hear them throughout the match.

“I was happy to do it. I think the main thing is we want to market the doubles, we want to market the doubles players, so we need personalities and this is an excellent way to make those personalities more visible to the fans,” Heliovaara told ATPTour.com. “What's more intimate? What's more interesting than that? I don't think anything... I want to try to make doubles bigger, so I'm more than happy to be part of it.”

“Honoured to be the first one ever to do it. The technology didn't bother me at all. I was wearing a belt and the receiver and the cord and everything, but that didn't bother me at all,” Heliovaara said. “Maybe I was a little bit thinking of what I was saying but it still felt very natural. I'm quite open about my tennis life anyway on my blog and everywhere so it wasn't a problem for me to talk about everything on the mind.”

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev continued his quest at this year's Paris Olympics on Tuesday when he moved past Czech Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-5 to reach the third round.

In hot conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier, the German won 88 per cent (14/16) of his first-serve points in the first set and then rallied from a break down in the second set to advance after one hour and 35 minutes.

Zverev, who struck 24 winners, won the gold medal in singles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, beating Novak Djokovic en route. The No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will next face Alexei Popyrin after the Australian beat Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5.

In other action, American Taylor Fritz moved past Briton Jack Draper 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round. The seventh seed, who fired 16 aces and saved all nine break points he faced, is making his Olympics debut.

Fritz will next face Lorenzo Musetti after the Italian beat Argentine Mariano Navone 7-6(2), 6-3. Musetti arrived in Paris in good form, having advanced to his first major semi-final at Wimbledon and the title match at the ATP 250 clay-court event in Umag.

Tommy Paul is one of three Americans inside the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings. Making his second Olympics appearance at the Paris games, the 27-year-old has won two tour-level titles this season, including his first at ATP 500 level last month at the Queen's Club.

ATPTour.com sat down with the New Jersey-born player to learn of his first Olympic memories and what he is most looking forward to about this year's edition.

What are your earliest Olympic memories?
Usain Bolt was pretty big, he’s still pretty big. I remember watching a lot of the sprints.

Which Olympic sports would you not be well suited as a competitor?
Rowing, running, marathon, 400s.

What is the United States best known for in the Olympics?
I think they are just known for winning the most gold medals. I think probably swimming, gymnastics, basketball.

Novak Djokovic continued his quest for an elusive first gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Monday when he overcame long-time rival Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in the latest chapter of the pair’s historic rivalry.

As they had done in their most recent meeting in 2022, Djokovic and Nadal were competing on Philippe-Chatrier in front of a raucous crowd. Spaniard Nadal earned a four-set quarter-final victory on that occasion at Roland Garros but was not able to inflict the same outcome on Djokovic, who reached the Wimbledon final earlier this month.

“Back in 2006, I don’t think we would have thought we would be playing against each other on the same court at the Olympics," Djokovic said. "So I think we will appreciate this match very much. I think our rivalry and I think for the sport itself. I think there was a lot of attention and interest directed from sports towards us. It is unfortunate for him that he wasn’t at his best, but I did everything I could to make him feel uncomfortable.”

If this was to be Nadal’s final appearance on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the 14-time Roland Garros champion will be satisfied with the fight he showed in the second set. The 38-year-old, who holds a 112-4 record at the clay-court major, was cheered on by his large team and received a huge amount of support from inside the stadium, with an abundance of Spanish flags waved throughout points.

The crowd grew into the clash as Nadal improved, with many suspecting that this could be the final meeting in their long-running rivalry, which began on the same court in 2006.

Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow saved one championship point on Sunday to capture their second tour-level doubles title of the season at the Atlanta Open.

The Americans won a dramatic clash against Swede Andre Goransson and Dutchman Sem Verbeek 4-6, 6-4, 12-10 to clinch the title on home soil at the ATP 250 hard-court event after one hour and 26 minutes.

“I am a little in shock,” Lammons said. “I don’t think we played our best there but we hung in and Jackson came up with the goods on match point there. I am pumped to get the win there.”

The second seeds, who saved one championship point at 9/10 in the Match Tie-break, won 86 per cent (37/43) of their first-serve points to clinch their 25th tour-level victory of the season as a team. Earlier this year, they triumphed in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

“This is our best time of the year,” Withrow said. “We love to be back in the States and here in Atlanta, where we are happy to get the title.”

Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori had to dig deep to secure his first hard-court win since February on the opening day of the Mubadala Citi DC Open Monday, saving two match points in the second set before claiming a near-three-hour marathon win over Borna Coric in steamy conditions in Washington, D.C.

The 25-year-old, No. 71 in the PIF ATP Rankings, saved two match points in the second-set tie-break and continued on to claim a 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 6-4 victory in two hours and 58 minutes to capture his first hard-court win since reaching the Doha quarter-finals in February.

Coric dropped 21 aces according to Infosys ATP Stats but conceded the lone break of the match in the fifth game of the third set. Ruusuvuori fended off all five break points he faced to level his Lexus ATP Head2Head with the Croatian at 1-1

A finalist in Hong Kong in the opening week of the season, Ruusuvuori improved to 16-12 on the season and next plays fast-rising Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who is making his first appearance since his stunning run from qualifying to the Wimbledon fourth round.

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Montreal, the tournament announced on Monday. 

The Serbian owns a 25-7 record this season following his second-round victory on Monday against Rafael Nadal in the Paris Olympics. The 37-year-old, a four-time ATP Masters 1000 Canada champion, is pursuing his first title of the season.

Djokovic enjoyed his best result of the season at Wimbledon, where he made the final before losing to Carlos Alcaraz. The 98-time tour-level titlist is currently in sixth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

The seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champion is trying to qualify for the season finale for the 17th time. Since 2007, the only year in which he missed out was 2017. The 2024 year-end championships will be held in Turin from 10-17 November.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Norway made history at the 2022 Beijing Olympics with a record-breaking 16 gold medals, the most by a country in a single Winter Games. Fast forward two years and one of the athletes Norway will have its eyes on at the Summer Games in Paris is the country's highest-ranked tennis player, Casper Ruud.

The 25-year-old, who has won 11 ATP Tour titles and made three major finals, looks to become the first Norwegian male to earn a medal in tennis. Ahead of Ruud’s campaign, the No. 9 in the PIF ATP Rankings sat down with ATPTour.com to discuss the Olympic sports he enjoys watching and which Norwegian athletes have inspired him.

What Olympic sport do you think you would be good at?
I think I'm just going to stick with my favourite sport outside tennis, which is golf. I love golf. That's my favorite sport outside of tennis. I love playing, I love watching it. Easy for me to go with that one.

For which sports do you think you would not be well suited?
Probably gymnastics or swimming or these things that require an incredible amount of body control.

Which Norwegian Olympians have you looked up to?
Lately we've had a few gold medals in the Summer Olympics as well, with Jakob Ingebrigtsen winning the 1500 metres distance running gold medal in Tokyo. Karsten Warholm set a new world record at the 400 meter hurdle in Tokyo and won gold there so the last Summer Olympics was really good for Norway, so hopefully we can keep it up this year as well.

Carlos Alcaraz maintained his red-hot form on Monday when he defeated Tallon Griekspoor 6-1, 7-6(3) to reach the third round of the Paris Olympics.

The Spaniard, who has captured major titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, has now won 17 of his past 18 matches and is 35-6 this season. He will next play Roman Safiullin for a place in the quarter-finals. On Tuesday, he will partner Rafael Nadal in the second round of doubles.

“I’m not used to playing doubles. I'm used to focusing just on singles, but it's a really special moment for me playing doubles as well,” Alcaraz said. “I love playing doubles. So the preparations could be tricky a little bit with the singles, with the practice, doubles. But I'm trying to play my best on both sides.”

Alcaraz was in imperious form in the first set. Every shot he hit and tactic he employed seemingly worked to perfection. But it was not all easy for the 21-year-old, who needed to save a set point on serve at 4-5 in the second set.

Griekspoor, the No. 28 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, found his rhythm in the second set and put plenty of pressure on the second seed. Before Alcaraz stepped to the line to serve at 4-5, he left the court with physiotherapist Per Bastholt for a medical timeout, which he later revealed was related to his adductor.

Even for a player who had already won 35 tour-level titles, including two Grand Slams, 11 ATP Masters 1000 crowns, and an Olympic gold medal, 2016 was something special for Andy Murray. After years of battling Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the top of the men’s game, the Briton elevated his level to eclipse them all.

Murray racked up a 78-9 record en route to nine tour-level titles in 2016, which he finished by becoming ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF in the most spectacular way. Ahead of the China Open in Beijing in October that year, World No. 2 Murray had trailed No. 1 Djokovic by 4,695 points in the PIF ATP Rankings. What followed was one of the most memorable season climaxes in ATP Tour history.

To celebrate the end of Murray's glittering career, ATPTour.com looks back on Murray’s unforgettable 2016 season.

OCTOBER - Murray On A Mission
It was two weeks and 10 straight-sets Murray wins in China that injected late-season intrigue into the 2016 race to become ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF. The 29-year-old had put up a sustained bid to haul in Djokovic and become World No. 1 for the first time by winning 54 of his first 61 tour-level matches of the year, but he was in danger of losing momentum after a quarter-final defeat to Kei Nishikori at the US Open was followed by a Davis Cup loss to Juan Martin del Potro.

Yet back-to-back defeats against a pair of old rivals was to prove a mere blip for the in-form Murray. He took his tally to six titles for the season by claiming the trophy in Beijing and then another at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, victories that reduced the gap between World No. 1 Djokovic and Murray from 4,695 to 2,415 points. The Scot was nonetheless keen to dampen any talk of him hitting World No. 1 before the year was done.

History will be made this week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington. For the first time, the ATP will trial player-worn microphones during doubles matches at the ATP 500 event.

This innovation, part of the 2024 ATP Doubles Trial, aims to enhance the fan and broadcast experience, while also amplifying the profiles of the players. This will take place across select doubles matches throughout the week.

Have you ever wondered what a doubles team is discussing before a critical deuce point, or what they are joking about during a changeover?

Now fans will be closer to the action than ever before with players mic’d up.

Fans will be able to hear these fly-on-the-wall moments live during broadcasts and clipped on the ATP’s digital channels throughout the tournament.

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray will both continue their doubles campaigns at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.

Nadal, who lost to top seed Novak Djokovic in singles on Monday, will return to action alongside fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz against Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof. The match will be the third on Court Suzanne-Lenglen after 12 p.m., following the men's singles match between Taylor Fritz and Jack Draper and the women's singles match between Jasmine Paolini and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

Nadal and Alcaraz are playing doubles together for the first time. They defeated Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the first round.

Daniel Evans and Murray faced five consecutive match points on Sunday against Japan's Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori, but the Britons saved them all and eventually advanced to the second round with a thrilling victory in Paris.

Evans and Murray will follow Alcaraz and Nadal on Court Suzanne-Lenglen when they play Belgians Sander Gille/Joran Vliegen or Frenchmen Arthur Fils/Ugo Humbert.

Rafael Nadal has no plans to linger on his defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics. He is set to immediately refocus on driving towards a medal in doubles with Carlos Alcaraz.

On Tuesday, ‘Nadalcaraz’ will take on Dutch duo Wesley Koolhof and Tallon Griekspoor aS they attempt to keep alive their dream of winning an inter-generational Olympic medal. “It's a tough defeat, but I don't need to change my outlook,” Nadal told Onda Cero. “I came here to play two competitions, and knowing from the beginning that I surely had more options in doubles.

“Today I'm sad, but tomorrow I'm going to get up with all the enthusiasm in the world to play doubles to the fullest.”

On Monday, Nadal looked headed for a blowout defeat to Djokovic, but rallied from 1-6, 0-4 to level the second set at 4-all – and send the Paris crowd into a frenzy - before the Serbian won the final two games of the match to complete a 6-1, 6-4 victory.

"He has been a much better player," Nadal said about Djokovic, who now leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 31-29. "For an hour it has been hard to digest everything that was happening, with physical exhaustion and the mental side. There has been suffering because the game was blatantly going badly for me. He was stronger in every aspect and he was not giving me anything.

Daniel Rincon earned a career milestone Sunday at the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Tampere, Finland, where the 21-year-old claimed his first title at that level.

The Spaniard joins elite company as a former US Open junior champion to win a Challenger title in the past 10 years, alongside Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Wu Yibing and Thiago Seyboth Wild. Rincon, a 2021 graduate of the Rafa Nadal Academy, defeated fourth seed Calvin Hemery 6-1, 7-6(4) in the Tampere Open final.

Following his title run, the lefty is up to a career-high No. 164 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Rincon is the youngest Spanish Challenger champion since Pablo Llamas Ruiz last July.

Daniel Rincon triumphs on the clay courts of Tampere, Finland. Credit: Tampere Open

In other ATP Challenger Tour action, Canadian Gabriel Diallo was unbroken across five matches to win the Chicago Men’s Challenger. The 6’8” 22-year-old faced just four break points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, relying on his hefty serve to capture his third Challenger title and first of this season.

Holger Rune announced on social media Monday that he has split with coach Patrick Mouratoglou. Dane Kenneth Carlsen will remain Rune’s coach.

“I have had some good talks with Patrick, and we mutually decided to part ways. He will always be a great friend, but for now, the best setup for me is to continue with Kenneth who will be present at all practices and tournaments,” Rune wrote on Instagram. “Nothing changes in my relation to Mouratoglou academy who always have been very helpful to me. I am looking forward to being healthy and back on track again.”

Mouratoglou wrote in his own Instagram post: “Holger and I have decided to part ways. This decision was reached mutually, as we believe Holger would benefit from a different approach in his setup right now. He is an exceptional player with immense potential and a strong character. It has been a privilege to work with him, and I have no doubt that he will continue to achieve great success in his career. I will remain his biggest supporter.

“The Mouratoglou team remains fully operational and committed to help him grow. Wishing Holger all the best in his future endeavors.”

Rune owns a 27-15 record this season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Several ping pong (table tennis) matches have gained fame for their intensity, significance, or dramatic moments. Here are some of the most notable and famous matches in table tennis history: 1. **1971 World Championships Final: China vs. USA Players: Zhang Liyin and Gao Jun (China) vs. Mickey Llamas and Debbie Chen (USA).Details: This match is his...

Mattia Bellucci will never forget the past weekend.

It all started in Atlanta, where the 23-year-old qualified for an ATP Tour event for the first time and took advantage by winning his first two tour-level matches and reaching the quarter-finals. That in itself was normal.

Then came his quarter-final Friday evening against Arthur Rinderknech. Due to rain, their clash did not end until nearly 1:30 a.m. local time, when Rinderknech prevailed in three sets. In the early hours of Saturday morning, the Italian knew he had to quickly travel to Washington for his first-round qualifying match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open later that day.

“I said, 'I'm going to take the earliest flight to go there, and then I'll try to sleep there'. And the earliest one was at 5:30 a.m,” Bellucci told ATPTour.com. “I basically just went back to my room, I packed and we went directly to the airport, so I didn't sleep at all. And then we got to Washington around 8 a.m., maybe 8:30.”

Upon his arrival, Bellucci ate breakfast because he had still not eaten. From 9 a.m. until noon, he slept.

Jakub Mensik continued his impressive march towards the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF by reaching the semi-finals at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.

The 18-year-old Czech, currently second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, earned three consecutive straight-sets wins before he was eventually stopped by Italian Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP 250 clay-court event. Earlier this year, Mensik advanced to the final in Doha. He is currently in action at the Paris Olympics this week.

PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah

Chinese lefty Shang Juncheng remains well positioned in fourth after reaching his second tour-level semi-final of the year at the Atlanta Open. The 19-year-old came through qualifying, beating Ben Shelton en route at the hard-court tournament.

Earlier in July, PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah leader Arthur Fils captured his maiden ATP 500 crown in Hamburg, while third-placed Alex Michelsen advanced to the final in Newport for the second straight year.

#NextGenATP Shang Juncheng enjoyed one of the best weeks of his young career in Atlanta to rise to a career-high in Monday's PIF ATP Rankings. Italian Matteo Berrettini is back in the Top 40 for the first time in 11 months after claiming his second consecutive title in Kitzbühel and Argentine Francisco Cerundolo was crowned champion in Umag.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers in the PIF ATP Rankings as of Monday, 29 July.

No. 73 Shang Juncheng, +16 (Career High)
The 19-year-old's rapid ascent gained momentum as he advanced to his second tour-level semi-final of the season at the Atlanta Open, having also reached the last four in Hong Kong. The teen came through Atlanta qualifying and earned his third Lexus ATP Head2Head win against top seed Ben Shelton in the second round.

Shang strengthened his claim on fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah as he aims for his maiden trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 18-22 December. Only nine ranking points separate Shang from second-placed Jakub Mensik, with American Alex Michelsen sandwiched in between. The lefty Shang is the second-youngest player in the Top 100, only behind 18-year-old Mensik.

No. 26 Francisco Cerundolo, +11
A hard-fought week ended with a great reward for the 25-year-old Cerundolo, who en route to the Umag title, ousted the Top 2 seeds Andrey Rublev and Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals and final, respectively. Cerundolo, now World No. 26, seven spots shy of tying his career-high, claimed his third trophy in as many years.