Rafael Nadal bowed out of the 2024 Paris Olympics singles event, as he lost to Novak Djokovic in two sets that demonstrated a clear level difference between the two.
In the leadup to this match, the question was whether the 14-time French Open champion could challenge his greatest rival on the very courts on which he had so much success in his tennis career.
Nadal openly admitted to the media before the match that he seriously doubted he could challenge the Serbian. He didn't say it to gain sympathy but to point out that they are in very different stages of their careers.
The Spaniard has been trying to find his level and wondering whether he would continue playing because his body isn't capable of keeping up anymore. Djokovic is one of the best players in the world and is a contender for trophies weekly, which means that he's far better than Nadal.
Therefore, the real question was whether Nadal could challenge the top seed, and the match between the two proved that he couldn't. Even when they played on the 38-year-old's best surface and on the courts where he played some of the best tennis he's ever played, Nadal wasn't competitive enough for most of the match.
He had a good run in the second set, winning four games in a row, but for the most part, when Djokovic played close to his best, he was a lot better than Nadal. After the match, the Spanish player called his opponent 'the best in history' and highlighted what went wrong for him in the match.
"One player was much better than the other and we have to accept it. For an hour it was hard to digest everything that was happening, although I did it. I tried to be with the right attitude and mentality to accept it because I knew there was a chance that the duel would go like this."
"I was not able to play at the level I needed and he has not given me practically anything either. I did not had the continuous shot quality to create problems for him…"
Djokovic was very motivated and arguably played the best match he's played all year long. Nadal, on the other hand, played at a level that would beat some opponents, but certainly not good enough to beat the Serbian.
"I do not have the legs of 15 years ago. So without the ball quality and the legs of 15 years ago, you're not going to create problems for the best in history, right?"
The coming days will prove whether Djokovic is the best player at the moment, but as Nadal pointed out, there was a big difference in their level. The 24-time major winner was better in every part of the match and deservedly won.
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