Novak Djokovic delivered a commanding performance against his long-time rival Rafael Nadal to advance in the Olympic tournament, continuing his quest for an elusive gold medal.
In their second-round match at Roland Garros, the 37-year-old Djokovic showcased his dominance with a decisive 6-1, 6-4 victory over the 38-year-old Nadal. Djokovic initially raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set, stifling the fervent support for Nadal. Although Nadal fought back to level the score, Djokovic’s relentless pressure secured him the win with a final break to serve out the match.
“I’m very relieved,” Djokovic remarked. “Everything was going my way, but I played a sloppy service game and gave him chances.”
Despite Nadal’s reputation as the King of Clay, with 14 French Open titles at the venue, his aura was not enough to overcome Djokovic’s high level of play. The match marked their 60th encounter, a record for the most meetings between two men in tennis history. Djokovic now leads their head-to-head record 31-29 since their first meeting in 2006.
Djokovic inflicted just the fifth defeat in 118 singles matches on Nadal at Roland Garros. The Serbian, who has won 24 Grand Slam titles and every ATP Masters event, is still in pursuit of the Olympic gold medal, the only major title missing from his illustrious career.
Nadal, who was hindered by a thigh injury, struggled to match Djokovic’s level and could not recover from his initial setbacks. He will next play men’s doubles at Roland Garros with Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion. Nadal has hinted at retirement at the end of the 2024 season, and this could have been his final singles appearance at Court Philippe Chatrier.
In other Olympic tennis news on Monday, British pair Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski were eliminated in the first round of the men’s doubles, losing 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 to Czech duo Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek. This leaves Andy Murray, who is retiring after the Games, and Dan Evans as the only British representatives in the men’s doubles.
Later in the day, Evans, who had secured a dramatic victory with Murray on Sunday, fell 6-1, 6-2 to Greek eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the singles. “It wasn’t that good from me,” Evans admitted. “He’s an amazing tennis player and was too good. It was a quick turnaround and just too much. But to get a chance to play for Great Britain, you shouldn’t pull out, so that’s why I went out there.”
In the women’s singles, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the favorite for gold, cruised into the third round with a 6-1, 6-1 win over France’s Diane Parry. Swiatek, 23, had won the French Open title at Roland Garros for the third consecutive year last month.
American second seed Coco Gauff advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Argentina’s Maria Lourdes Carles, while Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, recent runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon, won 6-4, 6-1 against Poland’s Magda Linette.
Czech ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova, who defeated Paolini to win Wimbledon, also progressed to the last 16, alongside Greek seventh seed Maria Sakkari and Germany’s Angelique Kerber. Kerber, 36, is competing in her final tournament after announcing her retirement following the Games.
Reported By BBC Sports.
