Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic: Olympics set for second-round clash between all-time talents

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Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic has been the final of 29 different tennis tournaments, including all four Grand Slams. In the 2024 Paris Olympics, it will be a second-round match.

Nadal opened his Olympic singles campaign with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win over Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in the familiar setting of Roland-Garros on Sunday, setting up a matchup that hasn’t been played before a quarterfinal in 15 years.

The only other time the two met before the final eight of a tournament, not counting round robins, was the 2009 Davis Cup. Usually, their high seeds make it impossible for them to meet in the earlier rounds, but Nadal’s recent injuries left him unseeded for the tournament, leaving him open for the draw to match him up against his Serbian counterpart.

So, the two found themselves in adjacent matches on the bracket. Djokovic took care of business on Saturday with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Australia’s Matthew Ebden, a doubles player who made the singles draw as an injury replacement, despite having not played an official singles match in two years.

Nadal was matched up with Fucsovics, who sits 83rd in the ATP Rankings. But even with Nadal playing on his favorite surface (clay) at his favorite venue (Roland Garros), his injuries meant there was no guarantee that he’d be able to beat Fucsovics. Nadal didn’t confirm he was competing in singles until the last possible second.

At first, it appeared that there was nothing to worry about. Nadal didn’t look the least bit injured and easily won the first set 6-1 in only 31 minutes. But we saw a different Nadal in the second set. All the energy and aggression from the first set were gone. He allowed Fucsovics to control the match and made some massive misses, and had to fight hard to stay in the match while Fucsovics piled up wins.

Deep into the second set, Nadal finally got into a groove. Down 4-1 at one point, he won three of the next four games to improve to 5-4, and was close to tying the set at 5-all. But the unforced errors were piling up for Nadal, and he couldn’t play clean enough to stop Fucsovics from winning his sixth game and the second set.

Nadal got some of that first-set magic back in the third. He was more energetic and responsive, and while he continued to have issues with his serve, he cleaned up the unforced errors and looked fully focused. Despite double-faulting during his final service game, he managed to force Fucsovics into one last error to win the game, set and match.

Nadal is also busy in the doubles bracket, where he’s teamed up with Carlos Alcaraz to form a Spain team high on star power. An injury created worries that Nadal might not be able to handle the singles workload, but he stayed in.

What will this mean for Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic?

Next round’s match won’t be the last of Nadal’s distinguished career, but it could very well be his final meeting with Djokovic.

At 38 years old and having dealt with constant injuries over the past two years, Nadal’s retirement figures to be coming soon. In another world, the chance to go out on the court where he won a record 14 French Opens would have been tempting, but Nadal has already said he would like to play in this year’s Laver Cup in September.

After that, though, it’s hard to say how many more events he plays.

The match also gives Nadal a chance to even his career record against Djokovic if victorious. Djokovic currently leads their matchup with a 30-29 record, with their first meeting coming in the 2006 French Open. Given how often the two players will come up in GOAT arguments over the next century, that’s not nothing.

As for Djokovic, defeating Nadal is always a boost, but the more important prize remains at the end of the bracket. Nadal is the only member of the Nadal-Djokovic-Roger Federer trio to have won an Olympic gold medal in singles, and Djokovic is attempting to join him. Nadal also has a doubles gold medal won in 2016 with Marc López, while Federer took gold with Stanislas Wawrinka in 2008.

Djokovic’s only Olympic medal is a bronze from 2008 in Beijing, where he lost to Nadal.