Djokovic defeats Nadal at Paris Olympics, remains on track for first gold medal

Novak Djokovic continued his quest for an elusive first gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Monday when he overcame long-time rival Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in the latest chapter of the pair’s historic rivalry.

As they had done in their most recent meeting in 2022, Djokovic and Nadal were competing on Philippe-Chatrier in front of a raucous crowd. Spaniard Nadal earned a four-set quarter-final victory on that occasion at Roland Garros but was not able to inflict the same outcome on Djokovic, who reached the Wimbledon final earlier this month.

“Back in 2006, I don’t think we would have thought we would be playing against each other on the same court at the Olympics," Djokovic said. "So I think we will appreciate this match very much. I think our rivalry and I think for the sport itself. I think there was a lot of attention and interest directed from sports towards us. It is unfortunate for him that he wasn’t at his best, but I did everything I could to make him feel uncomfortable.”

If this was to be Nadal’s final appearance on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the 14-time Roland Garros champion will be satisfied with the fight he showed in the second set. The 38-year-old, who holds a 112-4 record at the clay-court major, was cheered on by his large team and received a huge amount of support from inside the stadium, with an abundance of Spanish flags waved throughout points.

The crowd grew into the clash as Nadal improved, with many suspecting that this could be the final meeting in their long-running rivalry, which began on the same court in 2006.

Eighteen years later, Djokovic looked fresh and was firing close to his best, while Nadal’s intensity levels were lower for large parts. Despite this, the Serbian was aware of the danger the Spaniard posed and was pleased to earn victory in straight sets.

“At 6-1, 4-0, I got a little bit too comfortable," Djokovic said. "At 4-1 I played a little sloppy service game and you can’t give any chances to Nadal because he is going to use them and comeback. Especially on this court. The crowd getting involved but it was a crucial game at 4-4, trying to break his serve and then serve against the wind with new balls.

“It was a very close encounter but I am very pleased with the way I played.”

The Serbian, currently No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, controlled proceedings throughout the first 60 minutes and looked on course for a comfortable win when he led 6-1, 4-0. However, Nadal had only lost four times on Court Philippe-Chatrier prior to Monday and showed why during a 30-minute surge in the second set.

The 38-year-old started to land more blows with his heavy topspin forehand and broke Djokovic's serve to level at 4-4 in dramatic style when he retrieved a Djokovic smash with a smash of his own, before firing a forehand into the open corner. The crowd erupted and momentum seemed to be turning the Spaniard's way.

Djokovic was not to be denied, though, immediately breaking Nadal's serve again with a deft drop shot on his fourth break point of the game to lead 5-4 before he held to improve to 31-29 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

ON FIRE 🔥@DjokerNole defeats Nadal on their 60th meeting with a 6-1 6-4 win in #Paris2024 #Olympics | #tennis pic.twitter.com/eypG920orI

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 29, 2024

With his victory, Djokovic gained some Olympics revenge on Nadal, who beat the 98-time tour-level titlist en route to the gold medal in Beijing in 2008. Djokovic, who went on to win the bronze 16 years ago, has now earned 15 singles match wins at the Olympics, equalling Steffi Graf’s record for the most Olympic singles matches won since Seoul in 1988.

Djokovic, who last won an Olympic medal in 2008, will play Germany’s Dominik Koepfer or Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the third round.

Nadal lost in the first round at Roland Garros in May to Alexander Zverev and then missed the grass-court season. The 38-year-old returned to action at the ATP 250 event in Bastad earlier this month when he reached the final. He then clawed past Marton Fucsovics in three sets in his first-round match at the Paris Olympics on Sunday but was unable to match Djokovic’s level for long enough periods, with the Serbian striking 21 winners and committing 17 unforced errors to advance after one hour and 44 minutes.