Sent into the sunset?
Novak Djokovic overcame a brief bout of nerves in the second set before beating 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, 6-1, 6-4, in the Paris Olympics on Monday in a match many feel as the end of the road for the legendary Spaniard.
While Djokovic, the Serbian top seed, remains in the hunt for his elusive Olympic gold by advancing to the third round, Spain’s Nadal now has only the doubles competition left to add to his two Olympic gold medals, partnering Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic won 10 of the first 11 games as Nadal looked lost on the same Roland Garros clay which he ruled like a king for a long time in a dominant career.
No other men’s players in the Open era has won more Grand Slam titles than Djokovic, who has won 24 to Nadal’s 22, and the Paris crowd had anticipated something special with the two meeting for a record 60th time—the most by any two players head to head.
This is also an unusual early encounter for two-thirds of the sport’s Big Three together with Roger Federer. Djokovic and Nadal met in the second round here because Nadal was seeded low in the draw after dropping out of the top 150 in the world for lack of playing in tournaments.Nadal has played sparingly the last two years because of a variety of injuries. He even had hip surgery.
And Djokovic was in his elements, while Nadal looked every bit of his 38 years as the Serbian dominated him for a set and a half.Only a dogged rally from Nadal from 0-4 down in the second set made it exciting, as the Spaniard tied it all up at 4-4 before a spate of errors doomed him.The world No. 2, Djokovic stretched Nadal with punishing groundstrokes and perfect drop shots, making him look his age, as he raced through the first set.
The home crowd was ready for a mouth-watering epic between two of the greatest players to have graced the sport, instead they treated to a fast-track Djokovic win that put the Serb 31-29 ahead of Nadal all-time.
Old stomping ground
Nadal, with his thigh strapped due to a recent injury, was spilling unforced errors across Court Philipp Chatrier, a venue he has dominated like no other player, and lacked precision and consistency.
Early in the second set he had 13 errors, almost three times as many as Djokovic’s five.
Shaking his head in disbelief, and with the crowd sensing the end of an era was fast approaching, Nadal, who has been struggling for form after a string of injuries in recent seasons, seemed on his way to one of the most bruising defeats of his career on his favorite clay surface.
But he was not going to go down without a fight and eventually gave his fans something to shout about.
A Djokovic double fault saw Nadal pull back to 4-2 and that was celebrated like a victory with almost the entire stadium cheering him on.
After another two games the Spaniard was level but instead of completing a comeback that looked all but impossible minutes earlier, it was nothing more than a reprieve as 37-year-old Djokovic sealed victory on his first match point with an ace.
Meanwhile, Poland’s Iga Swiatek powered past France’s Diane Parry, 6-1, 6-1, on Monday to cruise into the women’s third round and stay firmly on course for a gold medal.
The world No. 1, who less than two months ago clinched her fourth French Open title on the same court, gave Parry no chance despite the home crowd’s vocal support, racing through the first set in 38 minutes.
The 23-year-old Pole, the overwhelming favorite for the Olympic title, broke Parry again early in the second set to go 2-0 up and stay in control.
With Parry’s errors quickly piling up, Swiatek cruised through the second set, sealing her win on her opponent’s serve, when the French player sent a forehand wide.
Swiatek will next play China’s Wang Xiyu in the third round.
‘Pride and pressure’ In doubles, Andy Murray said “pride and pressure” kept his tennis career alive in the Olympics when he and partner Dan Evans saved five match points in their opening match.
The former world No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam title winner teamed up with Evans and clinched a 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 11-9 win over Japan’s Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori.
The British duo was 9-4 down in the final-set tiebreaker but got help when Nishikori served a double fault on one of the match points, as the tension was cranked up on Court Suzanne Lenglen.Murray, 37, the singles gold medalist in 2012 and 2016, will retire from the sport once his Olympics is over.
“I felt fine this morning. I was a bit nervous but I didn’t feel terrible,” said Murray as he looked back on what could have been his final day as a tennis player.
“As the match started I was feeling it a bit, I was aware of the situation but I still have some pride, I want to perform well.
“There is always pressure playing for your country at the Olympics. You want that pressure and if I didn’t feel that, then I shouldn’t be here.” —Reuters, AFP
