Rafael Nadal sets up Novak Djokovic showdown at Paris 2024 after win over Marton Fucsovics, Brits make mixed start
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Updated 28/07/2024 at 19:55 GMT+1
Rafael Nadal will face Novak Djokovic in a second-round tie for the ages at the Paris 2024 Olympics after the Spanish legend continued his remarkable Roland-Garros record with a three-set win over Marton Fucsovics of Hungary. Earlier, there were wins for Team GB stars Dan Evans and Jack Draper, but Cameron Norrie was forced to withdraw through injury.
Nadal and Alcaraz delight fans with victory in opening Olympic doubles match
Video credit: TNT Sports
Rafael Nadal produced yet more magic on the Roland-Garros clay to dispatch Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics and set up a blockbuster second round Olympic men's singles tie with Novak Djokovic.
The 22-time major winner from Spain battled to a 6-1 4-6 6-4 victory in two-and-a-half hours, treating the adoring Philippe-Chatrier crowd to a series of trademark winners in an entertaining contest.
Victory for Nadal tees up a mouthwatering clash with 24-time Grand Slam champion and fellow legend of the sport Djokovic in what could well be one of the final chapters of an 18-year rivalry.
Nadal is a 14-time French Open champion whose statue stands outside the court where he has achieved unparalleled success, but he insisted 'home' advantage alone won't be enough to earn him victories.
"In the end it's about playing well. Obviously there are courts where you have more feeling, more positive memories, this helps without any doubt," Nadal told Eurosport's Alex Corretja.
"But in the end I think what helps is to play well, move well, be in the right attention at all times to not lose sight of the ball.
"It is something that when you don't play so often it's easy to lose, which is to be totally focused on the ball. Read better where the opponent is going to shoot, I think it's something that's costing me in recent times because I don't play much and I do better in training than in matches. So there is hope that at some point it will start again."
Nadal had suggested he might not compete in the singles at all after calling the decision to schedule his match for early afternoon “outrageous” due to its proximity to his doubles win alongside Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday evening.
However, there were few signs of fatigue from the 38-year-old when he roared out of the blocks, breaking Fucsovics in the Hungarian’s opening service game to set the tone for a one-sided opener.
Nadal soon found the double break and closed out a 31-minute set with a huge backhand winner for a love hold.
But Fucsovics, the world No. 83 who claimed a clay-court ATP 250 title in Bucharest in April, didn’t let his head drop and mustered an impressive response at the start of the second.
The Hungarian found his first break of the match between two holds to race into a 3-0 lead and pushed for a double break before Nadal responded in spectacular style.
The Spaniard came out on top of an extraordinary long rally from both players featuring drop shots, round-the-net forehands and lobs on his way to breaking back as Fucsovics looked to serve out the set at 5-4.
However, Nadal couldn’t maintain his momentum and found himself broken for a second time by Fucsovics while serving to stay in the set as the Hungarian forced a decider.
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Fans go wild as Alcaraz and Nadal walk out to begin Olympic doubles campaign
Video credit: TNT Sports
Both players saw off break points early in the third but it was Nadal who was first to pounce, following up a hold from 0-40 down by breaking for a 3-2 lead to edge back in front.
From there, there was no stopping the Spaniard from marching on after a tiring but successful start to his campaigns in both doubles and singles over the opening two days of competition in Paris.
"I think the first set was quite brilliant for my current level," Nadal added.
"I think the first set was very good, I think I played as I had to play. Dominating with the forehand and with the backhand opening the court to the crosscourt and creating spaces for me.
"Then of course he has improved but it's also because I lost the rhythm of the match, I stopped coming in and out, I stayed more static in line, I didn´t play front and back, I gave him the option to play from his best position which is his reverse forehand.
"I wasn't able to get him out of that position by opening with my crosscourt backhand or changing with my parallel forehand and then he started to feel comfortable, he got more confident, I got smaller and it is a wheel that moves forward and in the end we saved at 2-1 (0-40).
"Some good points, some errors from him so I got a little more energy, I tried again not to make him play so comfortable and in the end when you get to these situations anything can happen but it fell on my side and I'm happy about it."
Nadal, who carried the Olympic flame alongside fellow tennis legend Serena Williams during the Opening Ceremony, is dreaming of a second singles gold in the Olympics, 16 years on from his first in Beijing.
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The Spaniard has had an injury-disrupted year and missed Wimbledon in order to focus on his preparations for Paris, where he is also looking to add to the doubles gold he won in 2016 with Marc Lopez alongside reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz.
His clash with Djokovic will reignite one of the sport’s greatest ever rivalries, marking the 60th meeting between the pair over an 18-year period – a head-to-head the Serbian currently leads 30-29.
brits get off to mixed start
Team GB got off to a strong start in the men’s singles tennis as Dan Evans and Jack Draper sealed opening wins, but Cameron Norrie was forced to withdraw through injury and Evans required mid-match medical attention.
British No. 1 Draper, competing at his first Games, saw off 2016 bronze medallist Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-1 6-4 in 69 minutes to move into the second round.
The left-hander finished with a flourish by landing his third ace of the contest on match point.
It was an impressive service performance from the 22-year-old, who had a 71% first serve percentage and didn’t surrender a single break, adding 14 winners for good measure.
Draper dominated the first set, dropping just one game and closing it out in 24 minutes, before a single break in the second proved decisive.
Next he will face seventh seed Taylor Fritz of the United States, who eliminated Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-4 in one of the few outdoor matches to be completed on a rain-soaked Saturday.
Evans battled to beat Tunisia’s Moez Echargui 6-2 4-6 6-2, but a mid-match injury raised some concerns ahead of his doubles match with Andy Murray later on Sunday.
The Team GB star got off to a strong start as he went a set and a break up to put one foot in the second round.
However, a dive shot left the Brit with a bloodied knee and sore wrist and he required a medical timeout, after which he was broken twice in a three-game losing run to surrender the second set.
Evans then had a courtside massage from a physio before the start of the deciding set, helping him steel himself for in a gutsy performance as a double break proved enough to seal a three-set win.
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Dan Evans of Team Great Britain reacts after a fall against Moez Echargui of Team Tunisia during the Men’s Singles first round on day two of the Olympic Games Paris
Image credit: Getty Images
The 34-year-old will face either eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas next following the Greek's 7-6(6) 1-6 6-1 win over Belgium's Zizou Bergs.
Evans thankfully shook off the niggle to earn his second win of the day alongside Murray in dramatic fashion.
But there was some bad news for British medal hopes earlier in the day when Norrie was forced to withdraw from the singles through injury.
Norrie was due to play Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the first round.
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Elsewhere, sixth seed Casper Ruud of Norway won 7-5 6-1 against Japan’s Taro Daniel, and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Marcos Giron of the USA 6-1 6-4.
Home favourite Corentin Moutet beat India’s Sumit Nagal 6-3 3-6 7-5, while Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry triumphed 7-6(7) 6-2 against Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild.
Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany beat Portugal's Francisco Cabral 6-2 6-2, Austria's Sebastian Ofner won 7-5 6-2 against Robin Haase of the Netherlands and Lebanon's Benjamin Hassan defeated American Christopher Eubanks 6-4 6-2.
There were also wins for Stan Wawrinka, Mariano Navone, Andrea Vavassori, Ugo Humbert, Tommy Paul, Tallon Griekspoor, Lorenzo Musetti, Tomas Machac, Jakub Mensik, Sebastian Baez, Francisco Cerundolo and Roman Safiulin.
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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