PARIS: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic overcame a brief bout of nerves in the second set to beat 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 at the Paris Olympics to move into the third round.
Djokovic, who has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles but is chasing an elusive Olympic gold, left nothing to chance, stretching the 38-year-old with punishing groundstrokes and perfect drop shots, making him look his age as he raced to a 6-1, 4-0 lead.
Nadal, who had dominated at this venue like no other player, managed to claw his way back to level 4-4, much to the delight of the home crowd who were ready for a mouth-watering epic encounter between two of the greatest players to have graced the sport on their record-extending 60th encounter.
Despite his second set comeback, Nadal lacked precision and consistency at this level and could do nothing to stop the 37-year-old Djokovic from sealing victory on his first match point with an ace.