PARIS — Top-seeded Novak Djokovic could meet his longtime rival Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Paris Olympic tennis tournament, AP reported.
Djokovic was drawn Thursday against Australian Matthew Ebden and Nadal faces Hungaraian Marton Fucsovics, with the winners of those matches meeting in Round 2.
The 38-year-old Nadal won a record 14 of his 22 major trophies at the French Open. He won gold in singles at Beijing in 2008, and in doubles with Marc López at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on Lebanese player Hady Habib.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland faces Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania in the first round of the women’s draw with second-seeded American Coco Gauff taking on Australian Ajla Tomljanović.
Djokovic and Swiatek have not won Olympic gold.
Djokovic owns 24 Grand Slam trophies, more than anyone else in tennis apart from Margaret Court, but his only Olympic medal was bronze at Beijing in 2008.
Swiatek has won the French Open four of the past five years on the same clay courts at Roland Garros.
Men’s and women’s first-round play begins Saturday, and the top-ranked man won’t be playing. Jannik Sinner pulled out on Wednesday because of tonsillitis. The 22-year-old from Italy posted on X that he took medical advice to sit out the Summer Games.
