Novak Djokovic defeated long-time rival Rafael Nadal in their Olympic second-round encounter, continuing his quest for the elusive gold medal.
Serbia’s Djokovic, 37, appeared to be on a different level than Nadal for most of the one-sided match, which he won 6-1, 6-4 on Roland Garros clay.
Djokovic led 4-0 in the second set to quell partisan enthusiasm for the Spaniard, but 38-year-old Nadal came back to erase the double break.
But, as we’ve seen before, Djokovic pushed on the throttle again, breaking for 5-4 and serving out the victory.
“I’m very relieved,” Djokovic stated. “Everything was going my way, I was 6-1, 4-0 up but I played a sloppy service game and gave him chances.”
Nadal, regarded as the King of Clay, has won 14 French Open titles at the Olympic stadium, but his aura proved insufficient to trouble a player of Djokovic’s caliber.
The two, who have 46 Grand Slam singles championships between them, exchanged embraces at the net before Djokovic clapped Nadal off the court.
It was the 60th encounter in their longstanding rivalry; no two men had ever played each other more.
Following their first meeting in 2006, Djokovic presently leads 31-29 in their head-to-head.
“I never thought back in 2006 that we’d still be playing each other almost 20 years later,” Djokovic told the crowd.
Djokovic steps up in latest chapter of enduring rivalry
Djokovic has won everything there is to win in men’s singles tennis, including 24 Grand Slam trophies in all four majors and every ATP Masters event.
But the Olympic title is the one he has yet to win – and the one he craves the most.
The top seed, who underwent knee surgery eight weeks ago before returning to the Wimbledon final, performed at possibly his finest level of the season, causing 2008 gold medalist Rafael Nadal to stumble.
Nadal’s thigh was severely bandaged again, and he resembled a shadow of the 22-time major winner. He was unable to match Djokovic’s quality until the very end.
On Tuesday, Nadal will compete for Spain in the men’s doubles at Roland Garros, where he has a metallic statue honoring his achievements, alongside reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.
What happens next remains to be seen.
Nadal has barely participated in the past two seasons due to injuries, and he intimated last year that he may retire at the end of the 2024 season.
Although the former world number one has since stated that he intends to continue playing as long as his body allows, this could be his final singles match on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Whatever happens, it is quite unlikely that Djokovic and Nadal will reignite their rivalry on a competitive court.
What else happened in the Olympic tennis on Monday?
Their defeat leaves Andy Murray, who will retire after the Games, and Dan Evans as the only British representatives in the men’s doubles tournament.
Later on Monday, Evans, who had a nearly unbelievable triumph alongside Murray on Sunday night, fell 6-1 6-2 against Greek eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the singles.
“It wasn’t that good from me really, he’s an amazing tennis player and was too good,” said Evans, 34.
“It was a short turnaround, and it was simply too much. But if you get the chance to play for Great Britain, you shouldn’t back out, which is why I went out there.
Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the favourite for gold in the women’s singles, advanced to the third round with a 6-1 6-1 victory over France’s Diane Parry.
Swiatek, 23, won the French Open on Roland Garros clay last month for the third year in a row.
American second seed Coco Gauff advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Argentina’s Maria Lourdes Carles, while Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, who recently placed second at the French Open and Wimbledon, defeated Poland’s Magda Linette 6-4, 6-1.
Barbora Krejcikova, the Czech ninth seed who defeated Paolini to win Wimbledon, advanced to the round of 16, as did Greek seventh seed Maria Sakkari and German Angelique Kerber.
Kerber, 36, is in the final tournament of her career after revealing last week that she will retire after the Games.