Paris hosted what may have been the last meeting between two tennis greats on Monday morning.
Novak Djokovic overpowered Rafael Nadal and held off a comeback from the Spaniard to get a 6-1, 6-4 win in the second round of the Olympic tournament.
Djokovic claimed 10 of the first 11 games but Nadal made a push to get back into the match in the second set, winning four consecutive games, which was highlighted by a forehand winner for a breakpoint to make it 4-all.
Yet Djokovic broke Nadal’s serve immediately and gestured to his left ear as he walked to the sideline, seemingly taunting Nadal’s supporters, before serving to his victory.
Despite the enthusiastic “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” cheers at Court Philippe Chatrier throughout the second set, Nadal overall appeared as a shell of himself.
The 2008 Olympic gold medalist lacked hustle and his lefty power all while on the red clay, his signature surface on which he’s won a record 14 French Open titles.
However, Nadal, 38, hasn’t been playing at his usual volume either due to a series of injuries the past two seasons, including hip surgery.
He skipped the grass court season this year but played in the final of the last ATP 250 event, where eventually lost to Nuno Borges in Switzerland.
What he has called his “outrageous” schedule in Paris has also not helped.
On Saturday night, Nadal played in his doubles match with teammate Carlos Alcaraz and barely 12 hours later he had his first-round singles match Sunday.
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“At 2 p.m., I’m playing?” he said. “I don’t understand. It’s 10 p.m. at night right now. It is outrageous to me.”
The gruesome schedule and another injury setback this week to his thigh left open the question of whether Nadal would play Djokovic at all.
Nadal, whose tennis future remains questionable after the U.S. Open, still left the door open regarding playing Djokovic again down the line.
“Who say that’s last dance?” he said Saturday, per ESPN.
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