With the win, Djokovic remained in the hunt for his elusive Olympic gold. Meanwhile, Nadal has the men’s doubles left to add to his tally of two Olympic gold medals. The first set proved to be too easy for Djokovic as he bagged it 6-1 and led 4-0 in the second. But Nadal attempted a fightback, levelling it 4-4 at one point.

Nadal is probably in his swansong year, and this could also be his final Olympics. Speaking after the match, he was asked about his retirement plans, which left him visibly annoyed. “You want me to retire every day guys, you ask me for that. I am trying to do my best. I cannot live every single day with the feeling that it’s going to be or not going to be my last match”, he said.

“I have been suffering a lot of injuries the last two years. So, if I feel that I am not competitive enough to keep going, or physically I’m not ready to keep going, I will stop and I will let you know.

“I like what I do and of course I’m going to miss the adrenaline of playing but I cannot complain. I have been playing in all these courts for 20 years, fighting for the most important things. I achieved much more than I dreamed of.

“If that’s the last match here, I’ll be in peace. I did my best and I can’t complain anymore,” he added.

Nadal wasn’t at his best, with age, injury and fitness issues finally catching up to him. Reacting to the win, Djokovic said, “I was just very proud to be part of this match and … I wanted to do my job on the court and really execute the game plan as much as I possibly can.”

“So almost a perfect match, the 6-1 4-0. Then things got complicated, I started to hesitate a little bit on my shot he stepped in, the crowd got involved and for all, it was really anybody’s set, anybody’s game. Just very glad to overcome this incredible challenge,” he added.