Serbia's Novak Djokovic claimed a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Spain's Rafael Nadal in the second round of the 2024 Paris Olympics Men's Tennis tournament. The 24-Grand Slam champion Djokovic has never won Olympic gold, but now he is one step closer.
Djokovic is looking to complete the career Golden Slam, which means winning all four major tournaments and an Olympic gold medal. Only four players have ever done it: Steffi Graf (1988), Andre Agassi (1999), Nadal (2010) and Serena Williams (2012).
Monday was the 60th meeting between Nadal and Djokovic, who now holds a 31-29 lead. This match could have potentially been their last encounter because Nadal has considered retiring soon due to injuries.
"Tremendous respect I have for him," Djokovic said after beating Nadal. "Obviously a legend of our game."
Djokovic was up 5-0 in the first set, but Nadal has never lost set to love at Roland Garros or against Djokovic, so he fought back to win a game before Djokovic wrapped it up, 6-1.
Because of injuries, Nadal has not played much tennis lately and even skipped Wimbledon. He was moving slower than Djokovic and had 10 unforced errors in the first set. But just when it was starting to look it would be an easy match for Djokovic, Nadal reminded everyone of who he is.
Djokovic was ahead 4-0 in the second set, but Nadal once again denied his opponent a bagel, and then did much more than that. The crowd cheered for him and got louder every point as Nadal won four consecutive games.
Rafa Nadal wins an OUTRAGEOUS point against Novak Djokovic at the Olympics.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 29, 2024
Unbelievable defense.
Overhead off of Novak’s overhead.
Trademark Rafa forehand to finish it off.
Ridiculous tennis… jaw on the floor.
🇪🇸👑
pic.twitter.com/Pn8nbCIdWX
The next game was extremely competitive, and after Djokovic won it, he asked the crowd for more support. Djokovic did have plenty of supporters in the crowd, but he got a majority of boos because the spectators were craving Nadal's comeback. The Spanish star wasn't able to put it off, but he gave everyone quite a show.
"He has struggled a lot with injuries the past couple of years. I could feel that on the court a little bit today with his movement, but when he was on the ball he was striking it very well," Djokovic said. "I just tried to do everything I possibly can with my game to make him uncomfortable. To make it unpredictable for him."
The Olympic journey is not over for Nadal as he is still competing in doubles alongside Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic had knee surgery in June, but he reached the Wimbledon title match earlier this month and has carried that momentum into the Olympics. He moves on to face either Germany's Dominik Koepfer or Italy's Matteo Arnaldi on Wednesday.
