Nadal survives to set Djokovic blockbuster at Paris Olympics

Rafael Nadal set a blockbuster clash against Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Paris Olympics when he defeated Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday in the first round.

The two all-time greats will play a record-extending 60th match in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, which Djokovic leads 30-29. It will be their first clash since the 2022 Roland Garros quarter-finals, which Nadal won in four sets.

When the draw was made, the big news was the potential for another showdown between the rivals. Thanks to Djokovic’s win against Matthew Ebden on Saturday and Nadal’s victory over Fucsovics on Sunday, the fans will get their wish.

“Of course it's beautiful to play against one of the two biggest rivals that I had in my career, especially on this court,” Nadal said. “But situations are completely different for him, for me. He's being very competitive. I was not being very competitive for the last two years, so in that case, I think probably he is the clear favourite. I'm going to try my best to bring the best to the court and then let's see how how far I can go and how many problems I can create [for] him.”

RAFAEL. NADAL. 😤@RafaelNadal is into the #Olympics second round after defeating Fucsovics 6-1 4-6 6-4 💪#Paris2024 #tennis pic.twitter.com/qWGYvHnCmy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 28, 2024

Nadal owns a 112-4 record at the clay-court major, Roland Garros, where he is a 14-time champion. But on Court Phillipe-Chatrier, where the Spaniard has created some of his most magical moments, the recent Bastad finalist needed to work hard against Fucsovics.

“It's always beautiful to play on this court without a doubt,” Nadal said. “Representing your country is always super special. Every single day when sometimes the energy is not there, thinking that you are not playing just by yourself helps and in that case it has been important for me today.”

It did not seem it would be too dangerous of a match when the 2008 Beijing Olympics champion stormed through the opening set in just 31 minutes. But there were moments when the Djokovic-Nadal blockbuster appeared in serious peril.

Fucsovics led 2-1 in the deciding set and earned a 0/40 advantage on Nadal’s serve. But the Spaniard dug into the clay and fought through the service game. That hold proved pivotal.

In the next game, Fucsovics missed a backhand wide to relinquish the pivotal break. Despite earning a break-back point in the next game, Nadal escaped trouble with a drop shot. The lefty hit his backhand drop shot quite high, but it had enough backspin that Fucsovics was unable to put it in play.

The close encounter was not a result of Nadal struggling, but Fucsovics raising his level after a shaky first set. Long one of the most physically fit players on the ATP Tour, the Hungarian was able to absorb the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings’ heavy groundstrokes and send them back with interest deep in the court.

But in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, Nadal was more opportunistic in the pressure moments, converting four of his eight break points compared to two of 10 for Fucsovics.

“I think I started playing very well the first set. It [was] a great set, then something [was] happening. The good thing is I have been able to play at a very high level for around an hour, then I know what's going on now, because I am not playing very often, then I am not able to hold,” Nadal said. “It takes me a lot of effort to hold the energy and the focus for such a long time. But that's the effort of every day. Hopefully I will be able to do it better the next day. I will need it without a doubt.”

In other action, sixth seed Casper Ruud defeated Taro Daniel 7-5, 6-1. The Norwegian is a two-time Roland Garros finalist and has long excelled on clay. Ruud will next face Italian Andrea Vavassori, who battled past Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Tenth seed Ugo Humbert powered past Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 6-2. Humbert is the highest-ranked Frenchman in the PIF ATP Rankings. His countryman, Corentin Moutet, clawed past Indian Sumit Nagal 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

Thirteenth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada ousted Newport champion Marcos Giron of the United States 6-1, 6-4.

Two Britons moved on when Jack Draper advanced past Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-4 and Daniel Evans battled past Tunisian Moez Echargui 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Two Argentines also were victorious: Tomas Martin Etcheverry defeated Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-6(7), 6-2 and Mariano Navone beat Portuguese Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-2.

Benjamin Hassan became the first tennis player from Lebanon to win a match at the Olympics when he eased past American Christopher Eubanks 6-4, 6-2.

German Jan-Lennard Struff cruised past Portuguese Francisco Cabral 6-2, 6-2 and Austrian Sebastian Ofner surged past Dutchman Robin Haase 7-5, 6-2.