This was not any ordinary second round of the Olympic Games in Paris on Monday. When you have the opportunity to watch the legends of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal play against each other, you simply do not know when it will be next.
It was almost two years ago that we last saw Djokovic play Nadal. It was the King of Clay who came up with the W on this day, as Nadal was victorious 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, in the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2022.
Unfortunately, Nadal has experienced his fair share of injuries. It was clear that on Monday. that Nadal just did not have the overall speed and creativity at Roland Garros that he once had. Djokovic was making Nadal run with some creativity of his own, and as a result, beat the 22-time grand slam champion, and 14-time French Open champion, 6-1, 6-4.
After the match, Djokovic announced his intention to withdraw from the National Bank Open in Montreal. The fact that the Canada’s national tennis championship is the same time as the second week of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is a poor decision by those in charge of scheduling in the tennis world. There should be a week off for all players before the ATP and WTA resumes with their schedule. Let all players involved in the Olympic tennis tournament cheer for their Olympic teammates until the Olympic Games come to a close.
Next up for Djokovc in round three is Dominik Koepfer of Germany. Djokovic won their only prior meeting, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of Rome in 2020.
