Paris 2024 Olympics: Krajicek/Ram win silver medal, Fritz/Paul claim bronze in men’s doubles

Krajicek/Ram fight until the end, earn silver medal

In the gold medal match, two pairs of doubles specialists stood on either side of the net in hopes of becoming an Olympic champion. 

It was an even match, with the Americans the first to break their opponents, but Ebden and Peers broke back immediately. They were neck and neck throughout the entire match, evidenced by split sets that both ended in a tiebreak, which forced a 10-point tiebreak to decide the match. The Australian team jumped out ahead, but Krajicek and Ram stayed in the fight, staving off four match points before the Aussies emerged victorious.

Krajicek and Ram still received a medal—the United States’ 25th in Olympic tennis in 1988, and the 40th overall. They still have plenty to be proud of, as the set they lost in the final was the only one they dropped throughout the tournament. Additionally, Ram is the oldest player to contest a final, in singles or doubles, since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1998. 

Podium finish for Fritz/Paul after “digging deep” all tournament

The top-ranked American men in singles, Paul and Fritz, don’t spend much time on the same side of the court. Before they returned to the red clay of Roland Garros. In 2024, the friends only played together in Rome, where they lost in the first round, and then spent about 30 minutes practicing as a doubles team just before the Olympics began.

A day after a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals that would have set up an all-American gold medal match, they still managed to defeat their Czech opponents in straight sets, breaking their opponents twice in the first set before losing their only service game of the match. The Americans only faced one break point in the second set after jumping out to a 40-0 lead, but managed to save it, winning two more points to claim the bronze medal.

At least part of their success can be attributed to their coaches at the Games, former Olympic gold medalists Bob and Mike Bryan.

“Having the Bryan brothers here has been amazing, especially for us playing doubles here as well,” Fritz said. “Getting to this position, it's helped so much having literally the best doubles team of all time in your corner.”

The camaraderie proved important throughout the tournament, with the players cheering each other on. But it was particularly special for both teams to stand next to close friends on the podium, and see the American flag hanging on either side of the Australian ensign.

“We root for those guys the whole year,” Ram said, “and it's pretty cool when you have a podium of three teams in this situation that two teams are American. Unfortunately, we didn't get the one we wanted, I think that's the case for both teams, but pretty special to have two teams bring home medals from our squad.”