Novak Djokovic eliminates Rafael Nadal to march on at Paris Olympics

PARIS – Billed as an Olympic Games blockbuster, Novak Djokovic turned his second-round clash with Rafael Nadal into a mostly one-sided affair as the top seed won 6-1, 6-4 in the pair’s 60th and potentially last meeting on July 29.

It was Djokovic’s 31st win in a rivalry which began on the same Roland Garros clay courts in 2006.

The clash on July 29 was their first meeting in over two years after Nadal’s various struggles with injury.

Nadal was largely outclassed in the much anticipated encounter, only coming briefly to life when he won four games in a row in the second set.

“I’m very relieved. Everything was going my way, I was 6-1, 4-0 up, but I played a sloppy service game and gave him chances,” said Djokovic, who added: “I never thought in 2006 that we’d still be playing each other almost 20 years later.”

Nadal, meanwhile, said he will make a decision on his future “after the Olympics”. He said: “When this tournament is over, I will take the necessary decisions based on my feelings and sensations.”

In a sign of the wear and tear the pair have endured in recent months, Djokovic wore a protective strapping around his right knee while Nadal’s right thigh was heavily strapped.

But the 37-year-old played freely, forcing Nadal to scamper around Court Philippe Chatrier, where the Spaniard had collected 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles.

The Serb raced to a 4-0 lead on the back of a double break and held for 5-0 before Nadal stopped the rot, much to the relief of the packed crowd.

Djokovic pocketed the one-sided opener when 2008 Olympic singles gold medallist Nadal ballooned a forehand wide of the mark.

The statistics made grim reading for the 38-year-old, who managed to eke out just four points off Djokovic’s serve in the first set.

There was no respite for Nadal, playing just his seventh tournament of an injury-plagued season, as Djokovic again carved out a double break for a 4-0 lead in the second set. Djokovic, seeking a first Olympic gold medal to add to his 24 Grand Slam singles titles, surprisingly handed Nadal a lifeline when he served up a double fault to be broken for the first time.

Nadal retrieved the second break to claw his way back from 0-4 to 4-4 as the top seed suddenly went off the boil. Djokovic responded in style, a drop shot leaving Nadal flat-footed as the Serb broke for 5-4 on a fourth break point and clinched victory in style with an ace.

He next faces either German Dominik Koepfer or Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the third round.

Despite his defeat on July 29, Nadal still has hopes of a gold medal in the men’s doubles, where he is playing alongside Carlos Alcaraz.

In the women’s draw, four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek underlined her status as the heavy favourite for gold, swatting home hope Diane Parry aside 6-1, 6-1 in the earlier match on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The Pole won the first five games of the match and broke five times as she strolled to victory in just 74 minutes. Swiatek, who lost in the second round in Tokyo, will meet China’s Wang Xiyu for a place in the quarter-finals.

The world No. 1 has won her last 23 matches at Roland Garros, with three clay-court titles already under her belt this season.

A day earlier on July 28, two-time singles gold medallist Andy Murray kept his Olympic dream – and career – alive for one more match at least after teaming up with fellow Briton Dan Evans to beat Japanese duo Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel in a miraculous comeback.

The British pair squeezed past their opponents 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 11-9 and into the second round after saving five match points, delaying Murray, 37, from ending his glittering career. AFP, REUTERS