Nadal’s singles victory over Fucsovics sets up an incredible 60th professional meeting between the two men with the most Grand Slam singles titles in history; Djokovic is a 24-time major winner while Nadal has won 22.

And it’s their first match at an Olympic Tennis Event since 2008, when Nadal won their tightly-contested semifinal before going on to win singles gold in Beijing.

Djokovic narrowly leads the head-to-head series 30-29.

“It has been always super special to play against Novak,” Nadal said in comments reported on the ITF website.

“But normally we have been playing for finals or for semifinals. This is in the second round. Of course, it’s in the Olympics, where every match is super special. But it’s true that at the same time, almost every single match I arrived with a different situation than I am in today.

“So that makes the match more difficult for me and more unpredictable, no? But I always have hope. I always believe, and I am going to give my best.”

Indeed, after being a top-10 ranked player in each of his 59 previous meetings with Djokovic, Nadal enters this match as the world No.161.

His unusually low ranking reflects his injury woes in the past two seasons. He missed practically all of 2023 and has played just six events in 2024, a recent bright spot being his run to the Bastad final just prior to the Paris Games.

It’s been more than two years since he played Djokovic; he won their last meeting, on the same court, in the 2022 Roland Garros quarterfinals.

The Spanish great has hinted that he is nearing the end of his storied career. After his first-round loss at Roland Garros this year, he said: “If I keep enjoying doing what I am doing and I feel myself competitive and healthy enough to enjoy … I don’t know for how long, but I want to keep going for a while.