Djokovic, Nadal Could Clash in Paris Olympic Tennis Second Round
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and his long-time rival Rafael Nadal could face off in the second round of the Paris Olympic tennis tournament. Djokovic will open his campaign against Australian Matthew Ebden, while Nadal will take on Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. The winners of those matches will meet in Round 2.
Nadal, 38, has won a record 14 of his 22 major trophies at the French Open. He claimed gold in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and in doubles with Marc López at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz will face Lebanese player Hady Habib in the first round. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland will take on Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania, while second-seeded American Coco Gauff will play Australian Ajla Tomljanović.
Djokovic and Swiatek have yet to win Olympic gold. Djokovic has 24 Grand Slam trophies, more than anyone else in tennis except Margaret Court, but his only Olympic medal is a bronze from Beijing in 2008. Swiatek has won the French Open four times in the past five years on the same clay courts at Roland Garros.
Men’s and women’s first-round play begins on July 27, but the top-ranked man will not be playing. Jannik Sinner withdrew on Wednesday due to tonsillitis. The 22-year-old Italian announced on social media that he had taken medical advice to sit out the Summer Games.
