Paris 2024 Olympics, men’s singles draw: Djokovic vs Nadal potential second-round clash

Top seed Novak Djokovic could face former gold medallist Rafael Nadal in the second round of Paris Olympics, as the draw announced on Friday.

Twenty-four-time Major winner Djokovic, who is chasing his maiden Olympic gold medal, takes on Australia’s Matthew Ebden in the opening round. On the other hand, 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, who won the gold medal in Beijing in 2008, has entered the singles field with a Protected Ranking and faces Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.

Tennis events in Paris Olympics will be held at Roland-Garros, the venue where Nadal has won a record 14 French Open titles, from July 27 to August 4.

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz opens his campaign against Lebanon’s Hady Habib.

Alcaraz and Nadal, who will team up for doubles, begin their campaign against the sixth-seeded Argentine pair of Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez.

Third-seeded German Alexander Zverev, the reigning gold medallist, will be up against Spain’s Jaume Munar in the first round.

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Russia’s Daniil Medvedev is competing as a neutral athlete due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Fourth seed Medvedev takes on Australia’s Rinky Hijikata. Eighth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas will be up against Belgian Zizou Bergs.

Projected quarterfinals – Djokovic vs Tsitsipas, Zverev vs seventh-seeded American Taylor Fritz, Medvedev vs sixth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud and Alcaraz vs fifth-seeded Australian Alex De Minaur.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, World No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz and World No. 16 Holger Rune pulled out of the event due to illness or injury. Andy Murray, the only man to win two Olympic gold medals in singles, withdrew from the singles event minutes before the draw ceremony was supposed to begin.

The 37-year-old Murray, a three-time Major winner, is set to retire from the sport after the Summer Games. He will only play doubles in Paris, teaming up with Dan Evans. The duo will face Japan’s Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori in the first round.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PARIS OLYMPICS