Nadal, Djokovic set to clash in Olympics tennis second round

The singles draws have been announced for the Olympics tennis events, and a blockbuster second-round matchup between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal is on the cards in Paris.

The 64-man format has dished up a host of fascinating first-round clashes.

Australia’s Alex de Minaur takes on the dangerous Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, Britain’s Jack Draper faces Japan’s Kei Nishikori, while two generations square off as Italian youngster Lorenzo Musetti plays French veteran Gael Monfils.

In the women’s event, Iga Swiatek must overcome a challenging run if she is to claim her first Olympic gold.

The Pole has the in-form Diana Shnaider in a potential third-round match, with the likes of Danielle Collins and Coco Gauff looming later in the bracket.

Djokovic and Nadal on collision course

With 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal entering the Olympics unseeded, all eyes were on where he would fall in the draw.

Earlier this year at the French Open, he was drawn to play No.4 seed Alexander Zverev in the opening round.

Playing at the same venue but this time for Olympic gold, Nadal has received a more straightforward first-round match against Marton Fucsovics.

It is his second-round opponent that catches the eye.

Top seed Djokovic has been drawn next to Nadal in Paris. The Serbian plays Australia’s Matthew Ebden in his opening match.

If both Djokovic and Nadal win their openers, the two tennis legends will play in perhaps the most anticipated second-round match of any Olympic Games.

It would be the 59th meeting between the pair, with Djokovic leading their head-to-head count 30-29. Nadal won their most recent clash, however, at Roland-Garros two years ago.

Draw announcement causes another shift in outright odds

The draw announcement for the 2024 Olympics tennis has caused big shifts in the outright betting odds with online bookmakers.

Ahead of the draw, Djokovic was sitting at +250 to win gold. Now, his odds are +300, with second seed Carlos Alcaraz improving to -138.89.

The Spaniard plays world No.275 Hady Habib in his opener, with a potential second-round match against either Cam Norrie or Tallon Griekspoor.

The next few lines of betting have shifted as well, with the odds for Zverev (+500 to +650), Nadal (+800 to +1400), Casper Ruud (+1200 to +1400) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (+2000 to +2800) all lengthening.

These movements come courtesy of opportunities for other outside chances.

Musetti was at +8000 pre-draw but now sits at +4000 to win gold. The 22-year-old will likely need to go through Taylor Fritz to make the quarter-finals, which he is a good chance of doing after beating the American earlier this month at Wimbledon.

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime has improved from +10000 to +6600 after being drawn in the same 16th as Daniil Medvedev (+2800).

The men’s singles event gets underway on July 27, with the gold medal match played on August 4 in Paris.

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