Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz are on track for a golden showdown at the Paris Olympics, both advancing to the quarter-finals on Wednesday. However, Rafael Nadal's hopes of adding another golden chapter to his Roland Garros legacy were dashed as he and Alcaraz were defeated in the doubles quarter-finals.

Nadal, reflecting on the 6-2, 6-4 loss to Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek, expressed satisfaction despite the outcome. "I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but if that's the last time, I enjoyed it," the 38-year-old said.

Djokovic, aiming for his first Olympic gold, beat Germany's Dominic Koepfer 7-5, 6-3, marking his fourth quarter-final appearance at the Games. He will face Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas next. Alcaraz, seeded second, secured a 6-4, 6-2 win over Russia's Roman Safiullin and will play American Tommy Paul in the quarters.

Tokyo Olympics singles champion Alexander Zverev also progressed, defeating Australia's Alexei Popyrin 7-5, 6-3. He will meet Lorenzo Musetti in the next round.

In women's singles, top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland made history by reaching the semi-finals after Danielle Collins retired with Swiatek leading 4-1 in the third set. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova stunned Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova to become the first Slovak since 1988 to reach the Olympic singles semi-finals. China's Zheng Qinwen ended Angelique Kerber's career, winning 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(6), and will face Swiatek in the semis.

Croatia's Donna Vekic completed the quarter-final lineup by defeating Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in a marathon match, setting up a semi-final against Schmiedlova.

Despite his numerous accolades, the Olympics have eluded Djokovic, whose only medal is a bronze. However, he remains focused on filling this gap in his trophy collection, having not dropped a set so far. Djokovic anticipates a tough match against Tsitsipas, recalling their 2021 French Open final where he overcame a two-set deficit.

Games debutant Alcaraz, who aims to add an Olympic title to his French Open and Wimbledon victories, was too strong for Safiullin but faced disappointment in the doubles with Nadal. "I'm a little bit disappointed right now. Obviously, we wanted to keep going," Alcaraz said.

Norway's Casper Ruud will face Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarters after beating Francisco Cerundolo. Auger-Aliassime broke his losing streak against Russia's Daniil Medvedev, winning 6-3, 7-6(5).

American Tommy Paul ended French hopes by defeating Corentin Moutet, but his doubles partner Taylor Fritz was ousted by Musetti, 6-4, 7-5.