Today in
our
Daily Dose of Social Media, we summarise the latest posts from top WTA and
ATP Tour players, filled with
entertainment amidst the start of the Olympic
Games. A day after the opening ceremony, only a few matches were played due to
weather conditions, with notable victories by Iga Swiatek,
Novak Djokovic, and
the doubles team of
Rafael Nadal and
Carlos Alcaraz.
Billie Jean
King was another highlight at Philippe Chatrier, carrying the torch to kick off
the day, while new photos of the players in their Olympic Village emerged.
Nadal
and Alcaraz Victorious in Doubles
Undoubtedly,
the eyes of the tennis world were on the highly anticipated partnership of
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz at Philippe Chatrier. The Spanish duo had a
great showing against the doubles specialists from Argentina, Máximo Gonzalez
and Andrés Molteni.
The Spanish
pair secured the win with a score of 7-6, 6-4, marking another victory for
Nadal at Roland Garros. After the match, the 22-time Grand Slam champion shared
some images with Alcaraz and expressed his pride in their victory:
“Vamos España. Vamosssssss
#Nadalcaraz”
Djokovic
Starts Strong at Olympics
Novak
Djokovic secured a decisive victory in the first round of the
Olympic Games
against an unexpected opponent, Mathew Ebden. Ebden entered as an alternate
following Holger Rune's withdrawal and doesn't even have a singles ranking, as
he has specialized in doubles in recent years.
Nonetheless, he faced Djokovic on Philippe
Chatrier in a match that was completely dominated by the Serbian, who won 6-0,
6-1. The 24-times Grand Slam champion still extended a special greeting to
Ebden after defeating him in the first round: “Wasn’t expecting to face a
doubles player at the Olympics but respect to Matthew and on we go to the next
match.”
Billie Jean
King Honored in Pre-Match Ceremonies at Roland Garros
Billie Jean
King led the start of the day on Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros. The
legendary former tennis player made a star appearance in the pre-match
ceremonies to perform the ‘Les trois coups’ on the clay of Chatrier.
This is a
French theatre tradition dating back to the medieval age, where the director of
the play would strike the ground three times with his cane to signal to the
audience that the performance was about to begin and it was time to take their
seats.
In front of more than 15,000 people,
Billie Jean King received an
ovation from the crowd and then stayed to watch Rafael Nadal and Carlos
Alcaraz's doubles match: “A little BTS today as I performed the "Les trois
coups" on Philippe Chatrier
@rolandgarros to open tennis
@olympics. A
true honor.”
Swiatek in tears
after watching Paris 2024 opening ceremony
Iga Swiatek
shared her excitement about the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The
Polish player played one of the first matches of the day at Roland Garros and
hadn't had time to watch the start of Paris 2024 in detail.
The world
No. 1 commented on X about her excitement after watching the event, especially
due to the presence of singer Celine Dion: “Just watched the opening ceremony
(I know, I'm always late with these things). Hopefully I'll stop crying before
the next match. The Flame, last moments...I just can't. One of the most
beautiful things I've ever seen.”
The 4-time
Roland Garros champion defeated Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-2, 7-5 in her
debut match on Saturday and awaits her second-round opponent, between the
winner of Nadia Podoroska and local player Diane Parry. Swiatek is competing in
her second Olympic Games; her first was Tokyo 2020, but she had an early exit
in the second round
Caroline
Wozniacki Shares Olympic Ceremony Highlights Ahead of Her Fourth Games
Former
world No. 1
Caroline Wozniacki shared photos on social media of her experience
at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris. The Dane is participating in
her fourth Olympic Games so far, with her best result being the quarter-finals
in London 2012.
The
34-year-old player received an invitation from the ITF to play in the
tournament, considering that her limited number of tournaments has her ranked
as world No. 70, and she initially did not qualify for the event. Wozniacki is
set to play the first round against clay specialist Mayar Sherif.
“Paris 2024
Olympics opening ceremony ✨ always an honor and privilege to
represent my country! 4th Olympics for me. Beijing-London-Rio-Paris”
Tommy Paul shares
photos from Paris 2024 with Team USA
World No.
13
Tommy Paul shared a series of photos from his first days at Paris 2024,
including several with his teammates from Team USA. Among those who appeared in
the photos were Marcos Giron,
Taylor Fritz,
Coco Gauff, Chris Eubanks, Emma
Navarro, and others.
Paul
entered the tournament as the 9th seed and is set to debut on Saturday against
the Italian Luciano Darderi. So far, the only American to have already played
is Fritz, who defeated
Alexander Bublik in straight sets. Here you can find the
compilation of images shared by Tommy Paul.
“Olympic
dumpski. Fired up to rep the red white and blue tomorrow 🇺🇸”