The Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic defeated the king of clay, Rafael Nadal, in straight sets in the men’s singles tennis event at the Paris Olympics. Along with the victory, Djokovic reaches to the third round. The 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic overpowered the Spaniard in straight sets with scores of 6-1, 6-4. This victory boosts Djokovic’s chances of winning his first gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
This was the second time both met in the Olympics. Nadal and Djokovic had only faced each other during the 2008 Beijing Games. In that encounter, the Spaniard won in the semi-finals and went on to claim the gold medal in singles.
Djokovic, who has been waiting for an Olympic medal since 2008, will play the winner of Germany’s Dominik Koepfer vs Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the third round.
Serbian dominance in the first set
Fans expected a competitive match, but Djokovic made it look easy. He attacked relentlessly from the first game, with powerful backhands that troubled Nadal. Djokovic quickly established a 5-0 lead in the first set. Nadal managed to win one game, but it wasn’t enough to stop Djokovic, who closed out the set in the next game.
Nadal fights back
In the second set, Nadal struggled to gain momentum initially. Trailing by four games, he fought back with determination and managed to win a game, earning cheers from the crowd. Although Nadal was behind, he didn’t give up. He came back strong, applying pressure on Djokovic and forcing him into mistakes. Nadal won the next two games, narrowing Djokovic’s lead to just one game at 4-3.
Match Stats
Djokovic holds firm for the win
Djokovic remained calm, showing Nadal that he was still in control. However, Nadal refused to relinquish his chance. In a thrilling rally during the eighth game, Nadal equalized the score at 4-4. Despite Nadal’s efforts, Djokovic eventually won the set and secured the victory.
