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Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek were on the verge of winning well-deserved Olympic glory, but it all went wrong in the space of a half-set and two tiebreaks. Team USA finds itself in a familiar position so far in Paris: silver, just shy of gold.
At one point in their gold medal match against Australia’s Matthew Ebden and John Peers, the Americans were up a set and a break, having not dropped a set all tournament. Leading 4-2 in the second set, they then gave up a break and tied in another return game, sending the set to a tiebreak.
That tiebreak went badly, with the Americans down 7-1, forcing a super tiebreak in the third set. The Australians held on and took a 7-2 lead on what might have been the craziest point of the match. Ram appeared to pin them down with a sideways overhead smash, but Ebden got past the umpire’s chair to save the point.
Ram and Krajicek kept the game interesting with three straight points won towards the end, but they narrowly missed out on equalising. The Australians came away with a rousing 6-7 (6), 7-6 (1), 10-8 victory.
It is Australia’s second gold medal in tennis, after Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde won the men’s doubles in 1996. Australia also ranks second in the gold medal standings with 12, behind China’s 13. The United States’ total remains at nine, more than a week into the Games.
The loss also deprives the U.S. team of a gold medal in tennis for a second consecutive Olympics, after three straight editions with at least one champion. Ram won his second Olympic silver medal, after finishing second in mixed doubles in 2016, and Krajicek earned his first medal.
A match later, the other American pair — Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz — beat Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek in the bronze medal match, improving the American score.
At 40 and 34 respectively, Ram and Krajicek were able to take advantage of a doubles draw that featured stars like Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Andy Murray. The Spanish duo of Nadal and Alcaraz were the focus of attention from the start of the tournament, with the 14-time French Open champion playing what were likely his final matches at Roland Garros. Krajicek and Ram ended that story in the quarterfinals.
Doubles can often be seen as a different sport, with its emphasis on serve, volleys and teamwork, and Ram and Krajicek delivered all three of those performances throughout the tournament, not dropping a single set until the second tiebreak on Saturday.
Ram came into the Olympics with six Grand Slam doubles titles to his name, four in men’s doubles with partner Joe Salisbury and two in mixed doubles with Barbora Krejčíková. Krajicek has only won one Grand Slam title at Roland Garros 2023, but it was a significant title given the setting.
