Rafael Nadal against Marton Fucsovics of Hungary GETTY IMAGES

The clash that everybody had been hoping for, between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, will take place after the Spaniard defeated Hungary's Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Nadal whose match was the standout of the day, has previously hinted he may not participate in the singles, citing an injury after playing in the doubles with his partner Carlos Alcaraz.

Always with an eye on gold, and in the final phase of the 38-year-old's career, Nadal will no go on to face the sensation Serb for the 60th time, with the latter also dreaming of gold. Djokovic defeated Australian Matthew Ebden 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday.

It was the end of the road, however, for Britain's Cameron Norrie who has been forced to withdraw from the men's singles event at the Paris Olympics due to injury.

Norrie becomes the third tennis player to withdraw from the Paris Olympics after world number six Alex De Minaur and Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina, with Andy Murray and Jannik Sinner previously dropping out of singles participation.



Djokovic speaks out on rule change

Djokovic has called upon the International Federation and the Olympics to change a rule following his opening win in Paris after he easily swept aside his opponent.

The 24-times grand slam winner and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist said, “I don’t think it’s a good image for the sport, to be honest. There were a lot of singles players that had plenty of time, that were alternates, that could’ve been called to come.

“So this part I don’t get, I really hope the ITF along with the Olympics will consider changing this rule.” Djokovic added, “It’s tough on Matthew because he hasn’t played a singles practice in two years, he’s told me it’s been over two years (since) he played a singles match. 

The Serbian is not the only one to voice his concern, with Roddick adding to this criticism, calling the situation 'ridiculous’ and railing against the low standard of substitutes.


South American delight

It was a significant day for South Americans in Paris as Argentina's Tomas Etcheverry triumphed over Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild in straight sets on Sunday, advancing to the second round of Olympic tennis. Etcheverry, after a comeback in the first set, secured victory with a score of 7-6 (9-7), 6-2. He will face fellow Argentine Mariano Navone in the next round.



Elsewhere, the Argentine triumphs continued. María Lourdes Carlé qualified in the women's singles with a win over Germany's Tatjana Maria in her Olympic singles debut. This was followed by Mariano Navone's straight-sets victory, 6-2, over Portugal's Nuno Borges.

The action-packed Sunday for the Latin American contingent didn't end there. Colombia's Camila Osorio faced a challenging debut against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 Roland Garros champion, while Brazil's top 20 player, Beatriz Haddad Maia, prepared to take on France's Varvara Gracheva.

On the men's side, a notable clash featured Argentina's Francisco Cerúndolo against Chile's Marcelo Barrios Vera, adding to the day's excitement.