Olympic Tennis Tournament

Nadal gets going! His first singles match now LIVE

Rafa Nadal wins - now Novak Djokovic awaits

(Bild: AP)

The second round of the Olympic men's tennis tournament has its big showdown! Rafael Nadal defeated the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6:1, 4:6, 6:4 in his opening singles match in Paris on Sunday and will now face the top seed Novak Djokovic. The crowd's sympathies are likely to be with Nadal. The Spaniard, the record French Open winner with 14 triumphs, was already celebrated at Roland Garros against Fucsovics with loud chants of "Rafa, Rafa".

"I feel really loved by the French crowd. I enjoy the fact that I can still play at this age and have these unforgettable feelings on the court, to feel the support and love of the people," said the 38-year-old. With Djokovic, however, a different kind of opponent awaits on Monday (2nd match after 12 noon). Nadal: "Let's see, it's a special place, I'll just try to do my best and enjoy as much as possible."

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Nadal had his right thigh bandaged
In the duel with Fucsovics, Nadal came back from 2:5 down in set two, but had to concede the set on his own serve. In the third, the Spaniard, who also plays doubles with young star Carlos Alcaraz, managed the decisive break to make it 3-2. Nadal had bandaged his right thigh and there had been a small question mark over his singles start until the end. Nadal has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles in Paris. He has won two gold medals at the Olympics - in singles in 2008 and in doubles in 2016.

Defending champion Zverev defeated Munar
Defending champion Alexander Zverev did not show any weaknesses in round one. The Tokyo Olympic champion defeated Spain's Jaume Munar 6:2, 6:2, while Andy Murray extended his illustrious career by at least one match. The Briton fended off five match points in the doubles alongside compatriot Dan Evans against the Japanese duo Kei Nishikori/Taro Daniel to emerge victorious 11:9 in the match tie-break.