Following Rafael Nadal’s 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory over World No. 83 Marton Fucsovics in two hours and 30 minutes on Sunday, the Spaniard advanced to the second round, setting a clash against World No. 2 Novak Djokovic.
After assessing the contest, Nadal commented: “I started playing very well in the first set. It [was] a great set, then something [was] happening. The good thing is I have been able to play at a very high level for around an hour; then I know what’s going on now because I am not playing very often, and I am not able to hold.”
Adding: “It takes me a lot of effort to hold the energy and the focus for a long time. But that’s the effort of every day. Hopefully, I will be able to do it better the next day. I will need it without a doubt.”
Court Philippe-Chatrier, the iconic scenario where the Spanish player has claimed a record 14 French Open titles, becoming the King of Clay, will host the 60th encounter between two of the greatest tennis players in history, a classic not to be missed.
Chapter One Done
Contesting his first singles match in the Olympics since Rio 2016, Nadal set off to a strong start, leaving no breathing room for the Hungarian to react to such a fierce showing, which saw the Manacor native closing out 6-1 in just 31 minutes.
However, Fucsovics regrouped and dug deep with his return game, providing answers to the groundstrokes fired by his opponent, up 3-0 on the scoreboard.
But the man who never gives up on a fight charged back to narrow the gap. Nonetheless, he failed to match the level he displayed in the opener against the fit Hungarian player, who took the second set 6-4, forcing a decider.
Then, the 22-time major winner, who less than 24 hours before paired with World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz to play doubles, a match they won for their country in nearly two hours, raised, stepping the pressure behind his serve to overpower his adversary and steal the win in a thrilling third set.
He finished with 30 winners to 24 unforced errors, winning 72 percent of the points on his first serve and converting four of his eight break points.
As the day before, the 38-year-old played the match with his upper right leg taped due to injury. He wasn’t even sure he would play on Sunday with so little time left to recover, but that was another obstacle he overcame.
As a result, the second round everyone hoped for will happen on the prestigious Parisian red clay, reuniting the legendary warriors that will battle for their respective nations in an Olympic arena.
In that regard, Nadal, a two-time gold medalist, said: “It’s beautiful to play against one of the two biggest rivals I had in my career, especially on this court. But situations are completely different for him and me. He’s being very competitive. I have not been very competitive for the last two years, so in that case, probably, he is the clear favorite. I will try my best to bring the best to the court. Let’s see how far I can go and how many problems I can create [for] him.”
Meanwhile, the Serbian set off his run in Paris by demolishing Australian Matthew Ebden 6-0, 6-1, moving to the second round on Saturday.
The 37-year-old from Belgrade, who thus far this season is yet to win a title on Tour, bids to achieve his first gold medal at the event.