Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were dumped out of the Olympics men’s doubles event, losing the chance to fight for a medal in Nadal’s last Games. The 38-year-old already has gold medals in both singles and doubles, and he was hoping to add to his collection one last time.

Nadal’s future now remains uncertain. He previously said he would comment on his career plans after the Olympics but still had no idea as recently as Monday.

But it may have been the last time fans saw him on Court Philippe-Chatrier at Stade Roland Garros as he and Alcaraz were ousted by No. 4 seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-2 6-4.

The Americans were by far the toughest opponents that ‘Nadalcaraz’ had faced. Both have reached No. 1 in the world and Ram has four men’s doubles Grand Slam titles, while Krajicek won the French Open doubles last year. Their experience was clear to see as Nadal and Alcaraz struggled to get past them, with the fourth seeds proving to be like brick walls up at the net.

Krajicek and Ram immediately drew first blood, breaking in the opening game, and it made the first set an uphill battle for the Spaniards. They constantly seemed under pressure on serve. And Alcaraz crumbled in a lengthy game while serving at 2-4, giving away another break on a double fault. The Spanish duo blew their first break point and Ram served out the first set in 43 minutes.

Nadal and Alcaraz raised their level in the second set but it still wasn’t enough to trouble either of the Americans in their service games. But the fans in the biggest showcourt at Stade Roland Garros were clearly on their side, booing anyone who dared to cheer for the USA.

But Alcaraz was suddenly in more trouble, facing a triple break point on his serve. And there was drama when a forehand winner from the Americans was called out, only for the chair umpire to come down and overrule it. Boos rang out around Chatrier as the Spaniard tried to plead their case but they had no luck and Krajicek and Ram got the break.

Nadal’s dream of one last Olympic medal was slipping through his fingers as Ram put them within a game of taking the match and reaching the semi-final, where even the losers get the chance to compete for bronze. The 38-year-old served to stay in the match and kept them alive.

The spectators were on their feet when Krajicek stepped up to serve for the match and hit a double fault as chants of “ole” reverberated off the closed roof. Suddenly, the Spaniards had a lifeline. Alcaraz roared as he fired down a return winner to give them two break points and the chants in Chatrier were deafening.

It turned into a rollercoaster. Krajicek saved both before an error gave Nadalcaraz one more chance. The pair from the USA finally got to match point but they couldn’t handle Nadal’s power and netted the ball. The match couldn’t finish without more dramatics.

On their second match point, Krajicek hit a serve that had to be confirmed by the umpire. Nadal and Alcaraz huddled over as their dream hung in the balance. Miriam Blay showed a flat hand, confirming it was in, and there was a relatively muted response from the crowd before the multi-Grand Slam singles champions received a standing ovation.