Djokovic thrilled by prospect of 'one last dance' with Nadal

By Sports Desk July 26, 2024

Novak Djokovic is thrilled by the prospect of meeting Rafael Nadal for "one last dance" at the Paris Olympics, if the Spaniard overcomes an injury setback to feature at Roland-Garros.

Thursday's men's singles draw saw Djokovic paired with Australia's Matthew Ebden in the first round, with Nadal taking on Marton Fucsovics.

The legendary duo – who have won 46 grand slam singles titles between them – will meet in the second round if they both advance through their openers this weekend.

Djokovic and Nadal have previously faced off on 59 occasions, with the Serbian winning 30 of those contests but losing four of the last six, the most recent being a Nadal victory in four sets in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals.

Nadal's participation at the Games was thrown into doubt when his coach Carlos Moya said he had suffered a "setback" on Thursday and required 48 hours of rest.

If Nadal – who is widely expected to retire later this year – does make the tournament, Djokovic is looking forward to the prospect of facing him for a 60th time.

"Obviously he hasn't played much. His ranking dropped, so there was always going to be that possibility of me meeting him in an early round and there we go," Djokovic said.

"It's going to be a spectacle, definitely, if we get to meet. We will spread some fireworks on the court, like the good old times. 

"I hope we get to meet because it will probably be one last dance for the both of us."

Djokovic is set to appear at his fifth Olympics in the French capital, the joint-most by any male player since the sport returned to the Games in 1988 (with Yen Hsun Lu).

He is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Roger Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.

However, his best result at the Games remains a Bronze medal at Beijing 2008, when he was beaten by eventual gold medallist Nadal in the semi-finals.

Djokovic lost the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, also losing to Juan Martin del Potro at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.

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    Australia, who have won the tournament 28 times, largely had Thanasi Kokkinakis to thank after his remarkable triumph over Shelton in the first match of the day.

    Kokkinakis saved four match points and let slip six of his own before eventually prevailing 6-1 4-6 7-6 (16-14) in an engrossing encounter that lasted two hours and 14 minutes. 

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    “We were ready. A slight adjustment obviously. More huge serving singles players than the doubles craft, maybe, but it was just as big a challenge as any.

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    If they take the trophy, they will have reason to thank Kokkinakis, whose tie-break win against Shelton was the longest an Australian player had featured in at the tournament, surpassing Pat Rafter's win over David Rikl in the 1997 quarter-finals of the competition (15-13). 

    Ebden and Thompson also shone when it mattered most, serving four aces compared to Paul and Shelton's two, while also winning 92% of their first-serve points. 

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    The two tie-breaks proved pivotal as the Germans secured only their second Davis Cup semi-final appearance since 2008 (also reaching that stage in 2021).

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