Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, the world’s second-ranked player, defeated Spain’s Rafael Nadal, currently ranked 161st, in the second round of the men’s singles tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Monday.
On the centre court of Roland Garros, where he won the French Grand Slam title an unbeaten 14 times, the clay court king and 2016 Olympic champion lost 6-1 and 6-4 in a clash the Serb dominated for one hour and 42 minutes.
Djokovic, who led 6-1 and 4-0, added his 31st triumph in 60 matches against Nadal, who won 29, three of which were in the three finals he met the Serb in at Roland Garros (2012, 2014 and 2020).
The Serb won the first five games of the opening set, which ended 6-1, after the Spaniard’s triumph in the sixth game avoided a 6-0 lead.
The second half seemed to follow a similar pattern, with Djokovic managing to break Nadal’s first two serves and quickly reach a 4-0 lead.
But then the Spaniard managed to react and won four games in a row, including the first two breaks on the Serb’s serve, the second to tie the score at four, after a spectacular point that forced the court to “raise” Philippe-Chatrier.
In the ninth game, when he could have taken the lead in the second set, Nadal still saved three break points, but missed the fourth, with Djokovic regaining the lead (5-4), and then finishing the match with his serve (6-6). 4).
The Serb, who is chasing his first Olympic singles title, will face the winner of the match between Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, ranked 45th in the ATP, and Germany’s Dominik Koepfer, ranked 70th, in the next round, the last 16.
For his part, Rafael Nadal continues to compete in doubles, where he partners with Carlos Alcaraz.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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