Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic: Olympic tennis – latest updates

Novak fails with a rather fancy drop shot, dumping it into the net.

Now he is yelling at his coaching box, more to pump himself up I am sure than for any particular dissatisfaction about how things are going. It’s 30-30.

Djokovic hits wide and it’s 30-40. And what do you know, Djokovic suddenly barfs up a double fault. Scenes! 

Rafael Nadal breaks serve!

Rafa’s on the board in the second set.

“Nadal is on the board in this second set and the crowd roar their approval, but the Spaniard looks like a beaten man. Someone in the crowd just tried to heartily create that trumpet sound the French love to blast out at rugby matches (which actually originates from Spain). It was a commendable effort, but not sure the rest of Phillipe Chatrier entirely bought into it.”

Djokovic wins his service game.

Nadal is behind the eight ball again. He’s serving at 30-40. Game baseline defence from RN allows him to stay in the point and eventually Djokovic makes an error.

He saved that break point but he cannot save the next one, Djokovic hitting with too much power and accuracy. Nadal hits one long and that’s a second break of serve.

The Djokovic backhand is becoming crushing. There’s no escape for Rafa. Djokovic holds.

“Not sure this match is living up to its blockbuster billing, as Nadal strikes another forehand long. It has more of a ceremonial feel if anything given that these two are facing each other for the 60th competitive time in the same city where they kicked off their long-standing rivalry 18 years ago. But Djokovic isn’t buying into the bromance. He’s showing no mercy out there.”

Nadal has his back to the wall in this one as well. It’s 30-40 but Novak misses, and berates himself.

There’s soon another break point however.

He’s probing away to the back corner on the backhand, Nadal clinging on gamely but eventually he folds. Hits one into the net and Novak Djokovic has an early break of serve.

I’m pretty sure Djokovic will recalculate his drop shot strategy now because that is another one that’s sat up friendly like for Nadal to tuck away. Big moment at 0-15 now when Nadal lets rip with a scorching passing shot. Lands a few inches out. If that’s in, maybe we got something going on.

But it’s out.

And Djokovic wraps the set up with no fuss.

Nadal serves at 40-30. Djokovic attempts a crosscourt return winner but isn’t close to landing it and Rafael Nadal is on the board. Nevertheless, Djokovic will now serve for the first set.

Bit of a muted response from the crowd as Djokovic establishes a 5-0 lead and the players reach for their towels. It’s been all too easy for the Serbian, whose commanding lead in this first set is to be largely expected given Nadal’s lack of match sharpness. Both these veterans are showing signs of battle scars from their illustrious careers - Djovokic is sporting the grey knee support that he wore for the entirety of Wimbledon, while Nadal has heavy strapping on his right thigh, like he did in his opening doubles match with Carlos Alcaraz. That said, both have moved relatively freely so far, with Nadal chasing shadows at times due to Djokovic’s savvy shotmaking. This could be one-way traffic.. and the dreaded bagel for Rafa looms...

together at last. Seen there chatting away in the posh seats.

Novak with a commanding service game and the unpalatable prospect of a first-set bagel faces the Mallorcan great.

A bit of a slip/slide from Novak as he returns one here. Nevertheless, he’s looking very impressive. Nadal is up against it, serving, at 30-40. Can he go to the well one last time at RG?

Novak tries a drop shot from half court and it sits up nicely, this time Nadal gets there and puts the winner away. Well played. It’s deuce.

Djokovic, for his part, is moving very well indeed.

At 40-A, a shot from Nadal is called long but Djokovic himself corrects the call and says the ball was good.

Elegant savagery down the backhand from Novak. 40-A again...

And now Djokovic wins the next point as well to move double break up in the first set

Djokovic, brilliant and ruthless, making Nadal test out that hamstring with further drop shots. Wraps this game up with the minimum of fuss.

Novak looks on his game and I make Rafa very long odds from here, crowd factor or no.

Rafa struggles on the first couple of points of his serve but gets himself going and draws a huge roar as he runs around a forehand for a winner and 30-30.

Djokovic testing out Rafa’s movement with a drop shot. The Spaniard gets there but he’s always up against it in this point. It’s 30-40.

Nadal gets a bit unlucky with a net cord and it drops out and that’s a break of serve for Novak Djokovic.

These two normally meet at the business end of tournaments, in semi-finals or finals. Weird that this is the.. second round match of an Olympics, not that anybody cares. We’re only minutes in and already the Phillipe Chatrier crowd are chanting ‘Rafa! Rafa!’ in between the points. Djokovic, who made hard work of closing out his opening service game, will be relishing this. 

Djokovic wins the first three points with some ease but Nadal fights back with some overhead work and then a bludgeoning forehands to make it 40-30. Djokovic has the court at his mercy to win the game but hits long and it is deuce.

Nadal is moving really well in the early stages but Novak wraps this game up.

Warm applause for 14-time Roland Garros winner Nadal as he ambles out into the scorching sunshine. You can tell the love is real. Slightly less muted response for Djokovic, but huge cheers from all sides of the court as the pair share a photo together at the net.. quite possibly for the last time.

is a short-priced favourite to win this but you never know with Rafa in Paris!

Rafa in a Spanish red. I mean a shirt, not a Rioja or whatever. That instantly recognisable shade with a yellow piping.

Huge roar for Nadal. Lesser roar for Novak but still nothing for him to moan about just yet!

What a blockbuster meeting we have in store. The sun is blazing down on Court Phillipe Chatrier and although Frenchwoman Diane Parry in action against Iga Swiatek (which has been a lopsided affair) it feels a bit flat. The crowd is clearly waiting for the headline act up next. There isn’t a spare seat going in the media tribune, which was practically full after the Swiatek-Parry first set. There are still lengthy press queues snaking out of the media entrances and I’ve had to elbow-barge my way to get on.

This is the Paris base for WBD’s frankly mind-boggling Olympic operation, a hub from which UK viewers can watch their usual Eurosport channels supplemented by Discovery+ live streaming of every second of every sport over the next two weeks. It is, as they often point out, the only UK platform on which you can do that.

With wider coverage of the 32 Olympic sports beaming out to 47 countries in 19 languages, just one Eurosport day at Paris 2024 is reckoned to be equal in distribution and scale to an entire Fifa World Cup.

Has already had a starring role at Paris 2024. Here is a bit on the Opening Ceremony and here’s my take on the TV action so far.

And will commence at the conclusion of Iga Swiatek vs Diane Parry. 

Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the second round men’s singles match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic from the 2024 Paris Olympics. This one’s a bolt from the blue. If only these two had met before we might be able to draw some conclusions from their history … duh, yeah. This will be their 60th (sixtieth) competitive meeting over the past 18 years and Djokovic, still the world No2, leads 30-29 head to head but not on clay where Nadal remains the king of Paris with a 20-8 lead on the unforgiving red road to hell. So beloved by France, he was given a starring role in the opening ceremony and, though at Roland-Garros itself Nadal leads 8-2, he has been injured for most of the past two years. Nonetheless his adoring Parisian public will be willing him on for one last dance, one last feat of endurance, one last procession to a gold medal he last won in 2008, the same year Djokovic won his only Olympic gong, bronze in Beijing.

The fans’ first standing ovation for Nadal this week occurred when he wasn’t even in their presence, merely an image shown on a video screen as he waited in a stadium hallway to walk out on the court in the first round. They stayed on their feet, some applauding, some raising their phones to capture images of the moment when he emerged and stepped on the red clay so familiar to him. Chants of “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” rang out at various times, and plenty of red-and-yellow Spanish flags flapped in the stands, as Nadal beat Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday.

“It’s been always super special to play against Novak, no? No doubt about that. But the difference is normally we have been playing for finals or for semi-finals. This,” the 38-year-old Nadal said with a chuckle, “is a second round.”

Djokovic had knee surgery in June after tearing his meniscus during the French Open in early June but recovered quickly – and well – enough to reach the Wimbledon final two weeks ago before losing to Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal, meanwhile, has dealt with a series of injuries the past two seasons, including hip surgery in 2023, and his right thigh was taped Sunday. He needed a finger on his right hand treated by a trainer in the third set against Fucsovics.

“Every single match that I played against Novak – 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,” Nadal said. “But I always have hope, I always believe, and I’m going to give my best.”