Nadal and Djokovic meet in Paris Games blockbuster

PARIS : Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic meet in a much-anticipated second-round showdown at the Paris Olympics on Monday that could be the last encounter between two of the biggest-ever tennis champions.
The match, early in the tournament, will be a record 60th between the multi-times Grand Slam winners, including 28 finals. It also follows a two-year struggle with injuries for Nadal, who has dropped to 161st in world rankings.
Djokovic, who has won a record 24 men’s Grand Slams, is hoping to extend his 30-29 lead in the pair’s head-to-heads, but Nadal, dubbed the “King of Clay” leads 20-8 on clay, having won the last match between them in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals.
Nadal said he would “try to give (his) best and enjoy it as much as possible” in what could be the 14-French Open winner’s last match in the Roland Garros stadium.
The Spaniard could benefit from Djokovic’s recent drop in form, as he has failed to win a single title so far this year and is still recovering from knee surgery after he was forced to pull out in the quarter-finals of the French Open.
The Serb is looking to add a first Olympic gold medal to his all-time record Grand Slam titles, while Nadal won a singles gold medal in 2008 and a doubles gold in 2016.
Djokovic in the first round steamrolled Australian doubles specialist Matthew Ebden, who placed in the singles draw after a raft of leading singles players pulled out due to illness or injury, including world number one Jannik Sinner.
Meanwhile Nadal defeated Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in three sets.
The 38-year-old Nadal is also participating in the men’s doubles competition along with fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who is also playing in the singles on Monday.