"I'm always in the right frame of mind"- Rafael Nadal on his plan to "create problems" for Novak Djokovic and make it "special" at Paris Olympics
Rafael Nadal has said that he would do everything in his capacity to trouble Novak Djokovic in the pair's second-round clash at the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics. The two greats of the game are set to rekindle the most prolific rivalry in the history of men's tennis at the prestigious Games. Based on how things look on paper, it's the Serb who looks to be in pole position to win.
It has been a disappointing campaign for Djokovic so far, with the World No. 2 having failed to win a single title. However, despite this, the 24-time Major winner has reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and more recently, the final of the Wimbledon Championships. In the men's singles first round at the Olympics, the Serb brushed aside doubles specialist Matthew Ebden (6-0, 6-1) to progress to the second round.
Meanwhile, Nadal started his 2024 Paris Olympics campaign on a high, showing his doubles prowess partnering Carlos Alcaraz. However, there was great uncertainty over the Spaniard's singles participation owing to a thigh injury he sustained during practice in the buildup to the Games. Even though he returned to action at the start of this season following almost a year out, Nadal has majorly struggled to rediscover his peak fitness and form.
Ultimately though, the 22-time Grand Slam champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist did take to the Court Phillipe-Chatrier for singles, but needed to fight hard to come out on top against Hungary's Marton Fucsovics (6-1, 4-6, 6-4).
Nadal's win set him up for a blockbuster second-round encounter against great rival Djokovic. The Serb and the Spaniard have faced each other 59 times previously, with Djokovic leading the head-to-head 30-29.
Following his narrow win over Fucsovics, Nadal told RNE that he was not sure about the "level" that he can play at against Djokovic. However, the Spaniard expressed his commitment to posing as many "problems" for the Serb as possible.
"Normally when I've played this type of match against him, we play in the final rounds for something really important. These are the Olympic Games, and every match is important, without a doubt, but I'm a little bit unsure of what level I can play at. I'm going to try to give my best to really create problems for him," Nadal told RNE (translated from Spanish).
The former World No. 1 went on to say that his mindset heading into the match against Djokovic is positive.
"It's a little bit uncertain what's going to happen, but well, I'm always in the right frame of mind and if inspiration comes, I'll be working. We'll be there and we'll try to give our all to make it a special night," Nadal added.
"It can be a blockbuster" - Novak Djokovic recently assessed potential Rafael Nadal meeting at Paris Olympics
Following his resounding first-round win against Ebden, Djokovic was asked about his thoughts on potentially facing Nadal in the second round. At the time, Nadal was yet to play Fucsovics.
The Serb touched on the "hype" around the eventuality and also acknowledged that a meeting with Nadal has the possibility of turning into a "blockbuster" affair.
"Yeah there is a great hype around that (potentially meeting Nadal in the second round). I mean, I did my part of the job and obviously he has to win his first round (match) tomorrow. I've got to get ready for that one obviously, it can be a blockbuster. It's one of the matches or one of the events I guess that a lot of people at the Olympics in Paris this year are looking forward to," Djokovic said in his post-match, on-court interview.
Nadal and Djokovic are scheduled to play on Monday, July 29. The winner of the match will go on to face either Dominik Koepfer or Matteo Arnaldi in the third round of the men's singles event at the Paris Olympics.