Novak Djokovic defeats Nadal

Paris, July 29 (HS). Novak Djokovic defeated his arch rival Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Olympics here on Monday. This was the 60th and possibly the last match between the two great tennis players.

Djokovic won 10 of the opening 11 games, while Nadal was nowhere near the efficient and always energetic performance that saw him win a record 14 French Open trophies on the same red clay at Roland Garros. Nadal, 38, looked frail and looked like he might be heading toward retirement after playing little over the past two seasons because of multiple injuries and hip surgery.

Then suddenly, Nadal made a strong effort to make the match competitive and won four games in a row in the second set, including a forehand winner to make the score 4-4. However, Djokovic came back and won the set and the match.

Djokovic has 24 Grand Slam titles, and Nadal has 22, the two most by any man in the game’s more than 100-year history, both have been ranked No. 1, and no men’s pair in the professional era has played each other as often.

Both are two of the so-called Big Three of men's tennis, the third on the list being Roger Federer, who retired with 20 Slam titles.