In possibly the last of their men’s record 60 matches against each other, Novak Djokovic held off Rafael Nadal to win 6-1, 6-4 Monday on Court Philippe Chatrier and reach the round of 16 of the Olympic tennis singles tournament in Paris.
Nadal was staring at a lopsided defeat after falling into a 4-0 hole in the second set. But the Spaniard – as he’s done so often at Roland Garros, the site of 14 of his 22 Grand Slam victories – dug deep to erase the deficit and tie Djokovic at 4-4.
Djokovic fought back and finally converted on his fourth break point to take the ninth game of the set. Nadal’s comeback attempt ended shortly after.