Rafael Nadal, in doubt until a few hours before the match, took to the court and defeated Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, booking a dream challenge on his favorite court – Court Philippe-Chatrier – against Novak Djokovic.
The two legends will meet each other for the 60th time in a match that will thrill all tennis fans at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Nadal appeared to be in really good shape in the first set, which he dominated from one side to the other without stopping.
The clear 6-1 seemed to herald a simple victory, but it was not to be. The Hungarian reacted by breaking Nadal immediately in the second set thanks to a fantastic forehand.
Nadal made the counter break with his back to the wall, but at 4-5 he hit a bad drop shot on the third set point offered to his rival.
The Majorcan, however, found the strength to get up and, point after point, built the margins to raise the level again.
Both saved two dangerous service games at 1-1 and 1-2 and it was Nadal who then took charge on the return. The Spaniard protected his advantage with extreme care until the end.
“I played a good match. I played the way I was supposed to play, with my forehand dominating and my backhand opening up the court to the cross court and creating space for me. He improved, but I also lost the rhythm of the match, staying more static, playing on the line, not back and forth, giving him the opportunity to play in his best position, which is his backhand forehand, and I was not able to get him out. At that point, he started to feel comfortable, to gain confidence and I instead the opposite. In the end I saved myself at 2-1, 0-40 with some good points and some errors from him.
After that I took a little more energy and tried not to let him play so comfortably. When you find yourself in these situations, anything can happen, but I was lucky and I’m happy about it. In the end it’s about playing well, positive memories help, but what helps the most is moving well, with the right attention to not lose sight of the ball, to better read where the opponent is about to pull. The fact that I don’t play often costs me a bit, but I’m better in training than in matches, so there’s hope that at some point things will start to go better,” said Nadal at the end of the match.
It was a bit of what we all wanted and expected, a dream come true, or rather, that tomorrow will become reality. A gift for all tennis fans across the Planet. It will be the last dance in Paris, on Philippe Chatrier, the scene of endless battles between the Spaniard and the Serb. Matches that have written the recent history of tennis. An intense rivalry, lived hard by both. It will probably be the last official match of their glorious rivalry, a last taste of something that now seems to belong to the past, almost to a geological era ago, for how quickly things have changed on the ATP Tour in recent months. I give a piece of advice to all the young generations of tennis players: watch their match, you will be able to really understand what a rivalry in tennis means, you will be able to understand what the charisma is that moves millions of fans around the world, the essence of tennis.
“It would be a super match. I did my part, now it’s up to him to win the first singles match. I will try to prepare well for the match and, of course, it could be a show. It’s one of the matches or events in general that the public is waiting to see in this Olympics. I’m ready for what could be our Last Dance on this incredible court,” said Djokovic after beating Matthew Ebden to rech the 2nd round. Finally the show we were all waiting for.
