For a long time, it looked like a display of power from Djokovic and a dismantling of the initially overwhelmed King of Clay on the crowded Court Philippe Chatrier. Only at the end did the 60th duel between the two long-time rivals become exciting. In his inimitable style, Nadal, cheered on loudly by the crowd, launched a comeback, possibly during his last singles appearance in Paris, with some magical shots, but in the end, it was not crowned with success. The largely error-free Djokovic secured the next break to 5:4 and served out with an ace after 1 hour and 44 minutes.
“I couldn’t put him in difficult situations. He played much better than I did – from start to finish,” Nadal admitted. However, his Olympic journey is not over yet. On Tuesday, he will compete with his 17-year younger compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles round of 16. Whether he will return after Roland Garros remains uncertain for the injury-plagued Nadal. “I have been plagued by many injuries over the past two years. If I feel that I can no longer keep up, I will stop. And then I will let you know,” said the Mallorcan.
For Djokovic, this was the 31st win in their 60 encounters. He hopes for a sporting reunion with one of his great rivals. “The more he plays, the more tennis wins,” said Djokovic. The Serbian, aiming for the coveted Olympic gold in Paris, continues in singles against the German Dominik Koepfer, who defeated the Italian Matteo Arnaldi in three sets 3:6, 6:2, 6:1.
His possibly greatest rival, Alcaraz, has also not dropped a set in the tournament so far but had to go into a tiebreak in the second set against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the second round. The tournament’s number two ultimately won comfortably 6:1, 7:6(3). The 21-year-old, who has already won the French Open and Wimbledon this year, will now face the Russian Roman Safiullin. The third-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Norwegian Casper Ruud (No. 6) also advanced to the round of 16.
Among the women, top-seeded Polish player Iga Swiatek, American Coco Gauff, and Italian Jasmine Paolini also advanced after smooth successes in the second round. Swiatek allowed the Frenchwoman Diane Parry only two games in a 6:1, 6:1 victory, just like Gauff did against the Argentine Maria Carle (6:1, 6:1). French Open finalist Paolini defeated Poland’s Magda Linette 6:4, 6:1.