IMAGE: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal could have a potential showdown in the 2nd round at the Paris Olympic Games. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images from the Rediff Archives
Top seed Novak Djokovic could face 14-times French Open champion Rafael Nadal in a blockbuster second-round match in the Olympic men’s singles after the draw was made at Roland Garros on Thursday.
Serbia’s Djokovic, bidding to claim the Olympic gold medal that has eluded him, could have his path blocked by the Spaniard who has reigned supreme on the Parisian clay.
Djokovic, promoted to number one seed after the withdrawal of Italy’s Jannik Sinner due to illness, will face Australia’s Matthew Ebden in the opening round.
If he wins and Nadal beats Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics the pair will continue a huge career rivalry which has seen them clash 10 times at the French Open — three in final, all of which Nadal won.
Men’s second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who claimed his fourth Grand Slam title by winning Wimbledon this month, will face Lebanon’s Hady Habib in the first round.
Nadal and Alcaraz have joined forced as a Spanish dream team for the men’s doubles and although not seeded will be strong medal contenders. They will play Argentine duo Maximo Gonzales and Andres Molteni in the first round.
In the women’s singles draw, top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland meets Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu while second seed Coco Gauff faces Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
Defending men’s singles champion Alexander Zverev, seeded three, faces Spain’s Jaume Munar in his opening match.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland faces Irina-Camella Begu of Romania in the opening round of the women’s draw with second-seeded American Coco Gauff taking on Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka of Japan takes on three-time major champion Angelique Kerber of Germany.
Rio Olympic silver medallist Kerber, who won three different Grand Slam titles, will retire from tennis after the Paris Games, the German said on Thursday.
Former world number one Kerber, 36, finished runner-up to Puerto Rican Monica Puig at Rio in 2016 and won the Australian Open and US Open titles that year.
The left-hander won Wimbledon in 2018 and reached the quarter-finals on the red clay of Roland Garros twice.
“Before the @Olympics begin, I can already say that I will never forget #Paris2024, because it will be my last professional tournament as a tennis player,” Kerber wrote on social media.
“I took the toughest decision of my life today. It’s really not so easy to make such a big decision. If I could I would play forever but there should be a time,” she said after the draw.
Kerber returned to the WTA Tour this season after 18 months on a maternity break and bows out with 14 tournament wins in her career.
“Paris 2024 will mark the finish line of the most incredible journey I could have ever dreamed of growing up with a racket in my hand,” Kerber added.
Tough draw for Nagal; Bopanna-Balaji to start against French duo
India’s top singles player Sumit Nagal will begin his Paris Olympics campaign against French Moutet Corentin, who he had beaten in April and could run into formidable Australian world number six Alex di Minaur in the second round if he wins the opener.
Nagal, ranked 80th in the world, shares a 2-2 head-to-head record with Moutet, who is placed 12 places above him in the ATP singles chart.
If Nagal can clear the first round, he might face Wimbledon quarterfinalist Di Minaur in the second round.
Di Minaur withdrew from the last-eight Wimbledon clash against Novak Djokovic due to a hip injury.
In the men’s doubles, Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji have been drawn to meet the French team of Fabien Reboul and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Bopanna has shared the court with Roger-Vasselin in the past on the ATP Tour.
This is Bopanna’s last chance to win an Olympic medal. He had finished fourth with Sania Mirza in the mixed doubles event at 2016 Rio Games.
The Paris Olympics tennis tournament runs from July 27-August 4 at Roland Garros.
