PARIS: Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic will finally play a highly anticipated second-round clash against 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
The match will start at around 5:00 PM IST.
The record-extending 60th ATP head-to-head clash between these two legends will take place at Court Philippe-Chatrier and will be their first-ever meeting since the French Open quarterfinals in 2022, where Nadal emerged victorious. Overall, Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, has a slight edge over Nadal, leading the rivalry by 30-29.
Djokovic handed a crushing defeat to Australia’s doubles star Matthew Ebden by 6-0, 6-1 to advance to round two, while Nadal beat Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the opening round to set up this epic clash, as per Olympics.com.
The pair had faced off during the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics back in 2008, where Nadal triumphed over the Serbian and claimed the gold.
Djokovic had to settle for a bronze medal. Nadal also has an Olympic gold in men’s doubles, having won it along with Marc Lopez back in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The clay court of Roland Garros is a happy hunting ground for Nadal, having won a record 14 French Open singles titles at this venue.
Before this tournament, Djokovic had lost to young, up-and-coming Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon finals in July. The Spaniard dominated the game from the very first moment and won his second consecutive Wimbledon in straight sets by beating the Serbian 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at the centre court in London.
Nadal on the other hand, lost to seventh-seeded Portugal tennis player Nuno Borges in the final of the Nordea Open on Sunday by 6-3, 6-2. This was his first final in around two years.
Nadal is also participating in the men’s doubles competition along with Alcaraz, who is also playing in the men’s singles competition. The duo clinched a win over Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6 (7:4), 6-4 in the tennis men’s doubles match at the ongoing Paris Olympics in their campaign opener. (ANI)