Nadal Seeks Redemption in Doubles After Defeat to Djokovic at Paris Olympics
The most awaited tennis match at Olympics didn’t end well for Rafael Nadal. He expressed frustration following his loss to Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, stating there was “nothing positive” to take from the match.
Despite the defeat, Nadal aims to regroup and focus on the doubles competition alongside spainard Carlos Alcaraz.
Nadal, who secured his 60th career meeting with Djokovic by defeating Marton Fucsovics, struggled to match his Serbian rival’s intensity on Monday.
Djokovic dominated the first set, easily securing it, and quickly established a 4-0 lead in the second set. However, Nadal, a 14-time French Open champion, mounted a comeback with consecutive breaks, igniting the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd.
Despite the Spaniard’s efforts, Djokovic regained control by breaking Nadal in the ninth game of the second set and subsequently pointing his ear to the spectators, signaling his dominance. Djokovic closed out the match in the next game, advancing to the third round and continuing his pursuit of a first Olympic gold medal.
Reflecting on the match, Nadal admitted he was not at the required standard.
“He [Djokovic] has been better than me in every way. I don’t think I’m finding the rhythm of the game. In training I do, but then in competition everything happens too fast.”
Nadal highlighted his struggle with timing, which he deemed crucial for performance in sports.
“Everything happens too fast and against a player like Novak, who doesn’t forgive you, if I can’t push him back and see more times the ball coming from where it suits me, then you’re sold. I’m not 20 years old to be running from here to there and then you’re sold, which is what happened.”
Although the topic of retirement looms over the 38-year-old, Nadal remains focused on the doubles competition, where he has another opportunity to add to his Olympic medal collection. Nadal, who won Olympic gold in singles in 2008 and doubles in 2016, dismissed the notion of finding any positives from the defeat.
“Today, there is nothing positive,” he stated. “In this case, the doubles is tomorrow and from now on, I will be focused on everything to try to give us options to move forward in the doubles.”
Nadal and Alcaraz are set to face the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof in the round of 16, hoping to turn their Olympic campaign around with a strong doubles performance.x
