Top seed Novak Djokovic and former gold medalist Rafael Nadal could clash in a potential second round at the Paris Olympics, while Andy Murray withdraws from singles to focus on doubles with Dan Evans.
New Delhi: Top seed Novak Djokovic could face former gold medalist Rafael Nadal in a potential second-round clash at the Paris Olympics, according to the draw announced on Friday.
Twenty-four-time Major champion Novak Djokovic, aiming for his first Olympic gold, will start his campaign against Australia’s Matthew Ebden in the opening round. Meanwhile, 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, who secured gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, enters the singles field with a Protected Ranking and will face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics. The tennis events at the Paris Olympics, taking place from July 27 to August 4, will be hosted at Roland-Garros, the site where Nadal has claimed a record 14 French Open titles.
Second seed Carlos Alcaraz will kick off his Paris Olympics campaign against Lebanon’s Hady Habib. In doubles, Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, who are teaming up, will face the sixth-seeded Argentine duo of Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez. Meanwhile, third-seeded German Alexander Zverev, the reigning gold medalist, begins his quest for another title against Spain’s Jaume Munar in the first round.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, competing as a neutral athlete due to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, is set to face Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in the opening round as the fourth seed. Meanwhile, eighth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Belgian Zizou Bergs.
Projected quarterfinal matchups suggest an intriguing lineup: Novak Djokovic could meet Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev is expected to face seventh-seeded American Taylor Fritz, Medvedev might compete against sixth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud, and Carlos Alcaraz is projected to encounter fifth-seeded Australian Alex De Minaur.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz, and No. 16 Holger Rune have all withdrawn from the event due to illness or injury. Andy Murray, the only player to have won two Olympic singles gold medals, pulled out of the singles competition just minutes before the draw ceremony.
The 37-year-old Murray, a three-time Major champion, will retire from professional tennis after the Summer Games. He will focus solely on doubles in Paris, partnering with Dan Evans. The duo is set to face Japan’s Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori in the first round.
First-round matches to watch out
Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Marton Fucsovics (HUN)
[8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs Zizou Bergs (BEL)
Zhizhen Zhang (CHN) vs Tomas Machac (CZE)
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) vs [16] Nicolas Jarry (CHI)
[11] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) vs Gael Monfils (FRA)
Jack Draper (GBR) vs Kei Nishikori (JPN)
[7] Taylor Fritz (USA) vs Alexander Bublik (KAZ)
[5] Alex De Minaur (AUS) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
