On Thursday, Grand Slam record-breakers Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were drawn together in the second round of the Paris Olympics.
Nadal, a singles gold medalist at the 2008 Olympics, is playing in his final Games after winning doubles gold in Rio in 2016, while Djokovic won bronze in singles in 2008.
Following the retirement of world number one Jannik Sinner, Serbia’s Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion and top seed in Paris, will face Australian Matthew Ebden.
“I am excited for this duel in the second round, and I will give it my all,” said Djokovic, who has faced Nadal 59 times over the past 18 years.
“I am aware of the importance of the Olympic Games. I represent my country, which is more responsibility and even more pressure.”
Spain’s Nadal, who has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slams on the clay of Roland Garros, faces Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in his opener.
French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed, tackles 275th-ranked Hady Habib of Lebanon in opening round of the tournament, which starts on Saturday.
“Roland Garros is the most special place in the world of tennis for me,” said 38-year-old Nadal, who was defeated in the first round of the French Open by Alexander Zverev last month during an injury-hit season.
“This year I was not able to spend a lot of time at Roland Garros so I am excited to be back here. It’s another opportunity and a chance to enjoy every single moment.”
Defending Olympic champion Zverev, seeded third, will face Spain’s Jaume Munar.
Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev, who is competing in Paris as a neutral following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, will face Australian Rinky Hijikata.
Andy Murray, a two-time singles gold medalist who will retire at the Olympics after nearly two decades on tour, will only play doubles.
The 37-year-old former world number one had surgery to remove a cyst on his back before Wimbledon, which also prevented him from playing singles at the All England Club.
‘Toughest decision’
At the Olympics he will play doubles with Dan Evans.
“The Olympics are incredibly special for me and I am happy to do it one more time to compete for my country,” Murray said at Thursday’s draw.
“I trained the last few weeks to get myself ready to play singles and doubles but I am getting older and it’s harder to recover from all the injuries. I just ran out of time.”
Murray and Evans begin their doubles campaign against Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel.
Nadal and Alcaraz will face Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez from Argentina in their debut match together.
Nadal, Djokovic, and Nishikori are competing at the Olympics for the sixth time in their careers.
Angelique Kerber of Germany will also make her final appearance, having declared on Thursday that she will retire after the Games.
The 36-year-old, who has three Grand Slam championships, won a silver medal in singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Kerber will face Naomi Osaka of Japan, a four-time Grand Slam champion, in the first round.
“I took the toughest decision of my life today,” said 36-year-old Kerber.
“It is not easy to make such a big decision and if I could, I would play forever.”
Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, who won her fourth French Open championship last month, will face Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.
Coco Gauff, the second-ranked US Open winner who missed the Tokyo Olympics due to Covid three years ago, will face Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia.
Gauff will serve as a flag bearer for the United States team at Friday’s opening ceremony on the Seine in the center of Paris.