“Horrible…” Nick Kyrgios reacts to Novak Djokovic facing Rafael Nadal in R2 at Paris Olympics
Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets to progress to the third round.
Nick Kyrgios has slammed the Olympics draw after Novak Djokovic faced Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Paris Games. The Aussie made the statement on social media after a fan pointed out that Djokovic has been getting tough draws at the tournament for a long time now.
Except for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Djokovic has met tough opponents in the opening rounds at the Summer Games. At Beijing 2008, he was drawn to play former World No. 15 American Robby Ginepri in the first round. At London 2012, he played Italy’s Fabio Fogini in the first round.
Four years later, he lost to Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Petro in the first round in Rio. The Serbian was left in tears after that match as he entered the tournament as a favorite to win gold. At the Paris Olympics, he opened his campaign against Australia’s Matthew Ebden, which he won 6-0, 6-1 in 59 minutes.
However, his second opponent was his long-time rival Nadal. An X (formerly known as Twitter) pointed out that Djokovic has always had tough draws at the Olympics. In reply, Kyrgios said that the Olympics draw was horrible.
Novak v Rafa in the second round of a tournament is crazy… let alone at an Olympics. Novak has had some shocking draws at Olympic Games. Del Potro r1 in Rio, Fognini r1 in London, Ginepri r1 in Beijing.A fan said on X
Horrible drawNick Kyrgios replied
Horrible draw
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) July 29, 2024
Djokovic beat Nadal in the second round of the Paris Olympics, sealing a place in the third round for a likely meeting against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer or Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi.
Novak Djokovic continues his quest for gold after beating Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Paris Olympics
Novak Djokovic continued his quest for the elusive gold medal by beating Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in their 60th career meeting. The Serbian defeated the Spaniard in what may likely be the latter’s final career singles match.
Nadal was nowhere near Djokovic’s level despite giving it his all. Besides a brief period in the second set, Djokovic had a fairly easy time in the contest. After the match, the Serbian said that he gave it his all even though his opponent was not at his best.
I think there was a lot of attention and interest directed from sports towards us. It is unfortunate for him that he wasn’t at his best, but I did everything I could to make him feel uncomfortable.
Novak Djokovic said (via ATP)
Djokovic has not won an Olympic medal since 2008 when he won the bronze medal. He has had his eye on the gold medal for many years now as it would help cement his place as the greatest tennis player of all time.
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Victor Okechukwu
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