Rafael Nadal has a tough challenge ahead of him. © APA/afp / PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA

Dream duel in Paris? A tennis bombshell is looming

The Olympic tennis tournament is just around the corner. The first matches will take place on Saturday. The draw on Thursday morning also brought about a possible early tough duel.

July 25, 2024

From: det

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have won a total of 46 Grand Slam titles. Together with Roger Federer, they are the best players in tennis history. Now a tough duel is looming at the Olympic Games: Djokovic and Nadal could meet in the second round. That was the result of the draw on Thursday.

If Djokovic wins his first-round duel against Australian doubles specialist Matthew Ebden (he has not appeared in the singles world rankings for about a year) and Rafael Nadal also wins against Marton Fucsovics (Hungary, ATP 83), the two superstars will face each other in round 2.

Superstar Novak Djokovic is seeded number 1. © ANSA / BEN STANSALL

A duel that would be extremely explosive. The 38-year-old Nadal, who has recently been struggling with injuries, is the king of Paris and has won 14 Grand Slam tournaments on the Philippe-Chatrier court. The 37-year-old Djokovic, on the other hand, is seeded number 1 at the Olympics and wants to fulfill his dream of winning gold for the first time. But first of all, the two have to do their homework, and Nadal in particular has an extremely unpleasant opponent in front of him in Fucsovics.

Tough fate for Musetti

Carlos Alcaraz, the big favorite for the gold medal, will face Hady Habib (Lebanon, ATP 275) in the first round. The draw brought mixed feelings for Italy's players. Lorenzo Musetti has a tough match to play in the form of local hero Gael Monfils, while Italy's other big hope, Jasmine Paolini, will face Romanian Ana Bogdan in the first round - a doable task.

Jannik Sinner, the world number one, canceled his participation in the Olympic Games on Wednesday because he is suffering from tonsillitis.