Djokovic dominates emotional "outfield" against Nadal
Rafael Nadal Finds His Match: In the Olympic singles, the Spaniard loses the epic duel against Novak Djokovic in the second round in his backyard, Roland Garros. The Serb is clearly the better player for most of the match, but Nadal provides a few iconic moments. However, it's not enough in the end.
Novak Djokovic has won a one-sided epic duel against Rafael Nadal at the Olympics. The 37-year-old Grand Slam record champion from Serbia defeated his eternal Spanish rival, who is 14 times French Open champion, 6:1, 6:4, and reached the round of 16 in Paris. For Nadal, who fought tirelessly in the second set, this could be his last singles match on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic mercilessly dominated Nadal in the first set, with the crowd trying to cheer on their favorite with "Rafa, Rafa" chants. However, the 37-year-old Djokovic played almost flawlessly and repeatedly pushed the one-year-older Nadal around the court with drop shots.
A Few Last Iconic Moments
But with a 4:0 lead in the second set, Djokovic found himself in trouble again. Nadal refused to give up, providing some spectacular rallies and magical shots that created a few iconic moments and great emotions among the fans who were clearly on his side. But Djokovic sealed the victory with an ace.
In the end, the Serb extended his narrow lead to 31:29 in their 60th meeting and dashed Nadal's medal hopes. Djokovic, the gold favorite, will face the winner of the match between Dominik Koepfer from Furtwangen and the Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the round of 16. Nadal still has a chance to win his third Olympic gold, after his singles triumph in 2008 in Beijing and his doubles victory in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, playing doubles with his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.
Meanwhile, Djokovic is increasingly focusing on his big goal of Olympic gold. A triumph at the global event has so far eluded him, unlike his great rivals Roger Federer and Nadal, who both have gold medals. He has a bronze medal from 2008, when Nadal won the big prize in Beijing. Eight years later, the Spaniard also won gold in doubles in Rio.
Despite his heroic efforts in the second set, Rafael Nadal was unable to secure a victory in the Olympic singles against Novak Djokovic. This loss marked a disappointing end to Nadal's medal hopes at The Olympic Games in Paris.
Regardless of this setback, Nadal still has an opportunity to add to his Olympic achievements by winning a third gold medal, this time in the doubles event with his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.
