Rafael Nadal may be far from his prime form, if recent results are anything to go by, but the Spaniard beat Hungary's Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in a thrilling three-setter to set up a mouth-watering clash with Novak Djokovic.
The two legends of the game have met each other a total of 59 times in the past and this could even turn out to be the last time Nadal faces Djokovic with the Spaniard battling injury concerns and mulling retirement. The two tennis stars share a whopping 46 Grand Slam titles between them and the last time these two faced each other, it was a Grand Slam itself, two years ago in Paris, where Nadal got the better of the Serb.
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17 of the 46 Grand Slam titles have come in Paris alone with Nadal often being referred to as the "King of Clay", winning the Roland Garros a record 14 times. As far as the overall, head-to-head record is concerned, Djokovic narrowly leads the tally 30-29.
No Olympic Medal For 24-Time Grand Slam Winner Djokovic
When it comes to the Olympics though, Nadal happens to be a two-time Olympic champion. Djokovic, for all his Grand Slam success, has no Olympic medal to his name and given the competitive nature that he is known, that would be one record that he would be itching to set straight and eye the men's singles gold in tennis at Paris 2024 Olympics. After all, the Olympics medal is the last missing piece from his envious trophy and medal collection.
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While Nadal won his first round fixture against Fucsovic, Djokovic had already got the better of Matthew Ebden on Saturday (July 27) and was waiting for the winner of this clash to know his opponent in the second round.