Novak Djokovic continued his search for his first gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Monday, defeating long-time rival Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in the latest chapter of their famous rivalry.
Djokovic and Nadal faced Philippe-Chatrier in front of a rowdy crowd, just like in their most recent match in 2022. Nadal, a Spaniard, defeated Djokovic in a four-set quarter-final at Roland Garros but was unable to accomplish the same at Wimbledon earlier this month.
“Back in 2006, I don’t think we would have thought we would be playing against each other on the same court at the Olympics,” he added. “So I believe we will enjoy this match very much. I think about our rivalry and the sport itself. I believe there was a lot of attention and interest from sports towards us. It’s bad for him that he wasn’t at his peak, but I did everything I could to make him feel uncomfortable.”
If this is Nadal’s final appearance at Court Philippe-Chatrier, the 14-time Roland Garros champion will be pleased with his performance in the second set. The 38-year-old, who has a 112-4 record at the clay-court major, was cheered on by his vast crew and enjoyed a lot of support from inside the stadium, with many Spanish flags waving at various stages.
As Nadal improved, the fans became more involved in the match, with many assuming that this might be their final encounter since their rivalry began on the same court in 2006.
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Eighteen years later, Djokovic appeared to be in peak form, whilst Nadal’s intensity levels were generally lower. Despite this, the Serbian was aware of the danger the Spaniard offered and was relieved to win in straight sets.
“At 6-1, 4-0, I got a little too comfortable,” Djokovic admitted. “At 4-1, I played a little poor serve game, and you can’t give Nadal any chances because he’ll exploit them to come back. Particularly on this court. At 4-4, the audience got engaged in the important game of breaking his serve and serving against the wind with new balls. “It was a very close encounter, but I am very pleased with the way I played.”
The Serbian, who is now ranked second in the PIF ATP Rankings, dominated the first 60 minutes and appeared to be on his way to a comfortable victory after leading 6-1, 4-0. However, Nadal had only lost four times on Court Philippe-Chatrier prior to Monday, and he demonstrated why during a 30-minute run in the second set.
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The 38-year-old began to score more blows with his big topspin forehand, breaking Djokovic’s serve to level at 4-4 in dramatic fashion when he collected a Djokovic smash with his own smash before unleashing a forehand into the open corner. The audience surged, and momentum appeared to be moving in the Spaniard’s favour.
But Djokovic was not going to be defeated. On his fourth break point of the match, he broke Nadal’s serve again with a brilliant drop shot, leading 5-4, and he held to extend their Lexus ATP Head2Head series to 31-29.
Djokovic’s Road to the Olympic Gold Medal
Djokovic’s triumph brought some Olympic payback to Nadal, who had defeated the 98-time tour-level champion on his way to Beijing’s gold medal in 2008. Djokovic, who went on to win bronze 16 years ago, has now won 15 singles matches at the Olympics, tying Steffi Graf’s record for the most wins since Seoul in 1988.
Djokovic, who last won an Olympic medal in 2008, will face Germany’s Dominik Koepfer or Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the third round.
Nadal was eliminated in the first round of Roland Garros by Alexander Zverev in May, and he missed the grass-court season that followed. The 38-year-old returned to action at the ATP 250 event in Bastad earlier this month, reaching the final. He subsequently defeated Marton Fucsovics in three sets in his first-round encounter at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, but he was unable to match Djokovic’s level for long enough periods, with the Serbian winning 21 games and making 17 unforced errors to advance after one hour and 44 minutes.
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