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Rafael Nadal played down his hopes of another famous win over Novak Djokovic when the two old rivals contest a blockbuster second-round Olympic clash on Monday.
The two most successful male players of all time have played each other a record 59 times before, with Djokovic leading by one, but not since a quarter-final won by the Spaniard at the French Open two years ago.
Now they will meet on the same stage and for a second time at the Olympics, 16 years after Nadal edged a close contest in the semi-finals in Beijing.
There was a collective intake of breath when the draw placed the two old stagers so close together in Paris, and Djokovic needed less than an hour to see off Australian Matt Ebden on Saturday.
Nadal had been weighing up whether to play the match at all after concerns over a right thigh problem and a late finish to his doubles opener with Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday night.
But the draw of an 11th duel with Djokovic on the Parisian clay proved strong and Nadal, who missed Wimbledon to prepare for this event, gritted his way to a 6-1 4-6 6-4 victory against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
Nadal had won eight of the 10 previous matches, but he said: “(We’re at) different situations in our careers. He’s coming from being in the final of a grand slam and I’m coming without being very competitive in the last two years.
“Let’s see, it’s in a special place. I’m just going to try to give my best and enjoy it as much as possible. It has always been super special to play against Novak.
“No doubt about that, but the difference is normally we have been playing for finals or semi-finals but this is the second round.
“Almost every single match I played against him I was in a different situation than I am today, so that makes it much more difficult for me. I’m more unpredictable now, but I always have hope, I always believe.”
Djokovic described the possibility of the match-up as “one last dance” after the draw and, speaking on Saturday, he said of the 14-time French Open champion: “Playing him is like finals for me.
“In any tournament and particularly here, knowing what he has achieved and what he’s done for our sport – particularly here in Roland Garros – his record speaks for itself.
“So I look forward to it. If we get to face each other, it’s going to be, possibly, the last time we face each other on a big stage, so I’m sure that people would enjoy it.”
Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova kept her winning running going, surviving a deciding tie-break against Sara Sorribes Tormo, while there were also victories for Coco Gauff, Caroline Wozniacki and 2021 gold medallist Alexander Zverev.
