The start of Rafael Nadal’s likely final tour at Roland Garros didn’t quite go according to plan, but the Spaniard made it through nonetheless.
Nadal had to work for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory in the first round of the Olympic singles draw over Hungarian Marton Fucsovics on Sunday, played barely 12 hours after he finished up a doubles match Saturday night, to set up a second-round bout against Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic, the top seed in the Olympic draw, will be a heavy favorite against Nadal, whose future is unclear after the U.S. Open in September.
After dominating the first set, Nadal visibly slowed down and struggled to put away Fucsovics, the current world No. 83 in the ATP rankings.
On the court where he’s won a record 14 French Opens, Nadal ultimately found enough to get through in what could end up being his final victory on clay.
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The 2008 Olympic gold medalist — one of four players to record the Golden Slam — has had his schedule limited by injuries and skipped the grass-court season, but he made the final of the last ATP 250 event in which he played before losing to Nuno Borges in Basel, Switzerland.
On Saturday night after finishing up his doubles victory with partner Carlos Alcaraz, the 38-year-old Nadal was upset over the scheduling of his singles match, calling it “outrageous” and leaving open the question of whether he would play at all.
“At 2:00 p.m., I’m playing?” Nadal said. “I don’t understand. It’s 10:00 p.m. at night right now. It is outrageous to me.”
He also suffered an injury setback earlier this week and has played with a wrap around his thigh.
Nonetheless, the match against Djokovic — which comes with the potential of being the last time the two great rivals meet — will be an early highlight of the Olympics.
