Carlos Alcaraz Battles Groin Pain for Victory, Prepares for Doubles with Nadal

Carlos Alcaraz took a medical timeout for a groin muscle issue during his singles victory at the Paris Olympics. Despite the pain, he is set to play doubles with Rafael Nadal against Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof. Alcaraz aims to recover fully by tomorrow.

Carlos Alcaraz took a medical timeout for a lingering groin muscle issue during his 6-1, 7-6 (3) singles victory over Tallon Griekspoor at the Paris Olympics.

Despite the setback, Alcaraz is scheduled to play doubles for Spain with Rafael Nadal on Tuesday against 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 cope with it," said Alcaraz, a 21-year-old who recently won the French Open and Wimbledon at the same venue being used for the Olympics tennis.

Alcaraz expressed his intent to recover fully by tomorrow's doubles match. He had 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 at this level, he's really hard to beat. I saw Rafa playing decent but not his best tennis. Djokovic was nearly unbeatable," Alcaraz added.

Griekspoor praised Alcaraz as "one of the best players," although he noticed Alcaraz struggling midway through the second set before regaining control to win in the tiebreaker.

Griekspoor is preparing for the doubles rematch by reviewing the first-round victory of Nadal and Alcaraz, noting, "We'll see how both of them are physically tomorrow."

(With inputs from agencies.)