Novak Djokovic advanced in his pursuit of a first Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games on Monday, defeating his long-standing rival Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4, adding another storied encounter to their historic rivalry.
In a scene reminiscent of their last clash in 2022, Djokovic and Nadal faced off on Philippe-Chatrier Court amidst an electric atmosphere. Nadal, the Spaniard, had previously triumphed in a four-set quarter-final at Roland Garros, but this time he couldn’t replicate the result against Djokovic, who had just made it to the Wimbledon final.
Ranked No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the Serbian dominated the first hour, seemingly cruising to victory with a 6-1, 4-0 lead. Yet, Nadal, with only four prior losses on this court, mounted a comeback during a thrilling 30-minute period in the second set.
At 38, Nadal began to turn the tide with his signature heavy topspin forehand, breaking Djokovic’s serve to draw even at 4-4 in a dramatic fashion, countering a Djokovic overhead with one of his own, followed by a winning forehand into the corner, igniting the crowd’s fervor.
Djokovic, however, swiftly regained control, breaking back immediately with a clever drop shot on the fourth break point to take a 5-4 lead, then holding serve to edge ahead 31-29 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
This victory allowed Djokovic to exact some Olympic retribution against Nadal, who had defeated the 98-time tour-level champion on his way to the Beijing gold in 2008. Djokovic, who secured bronze that year, has now matched Steffi Graf’s record of 15 singles match wins at the Olympics since 1988 in Seoul.
Looking ahead, Djokovic, whose last Olympic medal was in 2008, is set to face either Germany’s Dominik Koepfer or Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the third round.
