Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-4 as two of tennis’ great champions clashed in the second round of the Olympic men’s singles at Roland Garros.
The much-anticipated matchup between record 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and Nadal, a 14-time winner of the French Open, initially proved to be a bit of a damp squib as Djokovic breezed the opening set 6-1.
The Serb raced out into a 5-0 lead as he broke Nadal in both of his opening two service games. The Spaniard finally held third time round to get on the board but was broken twice more to start the second set.
At that stage, it looked set to be a sorry exit for the 38-year-old Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion in his own right who has been plagued by injuries in recent years.
But, in what could prove to be his last career meeting with the one-year-younger Djokovic, Nadal rallied to put on a show for the Paris crowd in attendance, breaking back twice to level the second set at 4-4.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have won a combined 46 Grand Slam titles, with their Olympics clash as record 60th meeting between the two
Sadly he couldn’t maintain his comeback, coughing up four further break points in his subsequent service game and, though he saved the first three of them, Djokovic converted the fourth before serving out the match.
It means Djokovic nudges further ahead 31-29 in the pair’s 60 career meetings, though Nadal holds the edge 5-4 in their nine Grand Slam finals contested.
With victory, Djokovic keeps alive his hopes of a first Olympic gold medal, while Nadal, who won gold at Beijing 2008 – where Djokovic took bronze – is left to focus on the men’s doubles, where he is competing alongside world No 2 and four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz.
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