The 28th edition of the Summer Olympics is already underway with the archery and football events having already begun. The tennis tournament will commence tomorrow and is bound to be pretty exciting despite the likes of Federer, Raonic, Wawrinka and Berdych pulling out of the tournament owing to injury concerns or zika virus fears.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic will be looking to bag his first Olympic gold whereas No.2 Andy Murray would be wanting to create history by becoming the first player to win two successive gold medals in the singles tournament at the Olympics. With only a day left before the tennis tournament gets underway, let’s take a look at five matches to look out for on Day-1.
#5. Marin Cilic vs Grigor Dimitrov
World No. 14 Marin Cilic has been in decent form in the past couple of years which saw him win the 2014 US Open and reach the semifinals the following year as well as three successive quarter-final appearances at Wimbledon; the most recent one of which saw him nearly defeating Roger Federer after winning the first two sets and serving for the match in the fourth set before Federer snatched the match away from him.
Cilic, who is seeded 9th at Rio is a dark horse at the tournament and will be taking on Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round. The only time these two players locked horns before was the second round of the 2014 Brisbane International which Cilic won in straight sets. Cilic will be the overwhelming favorite coming into the match but the big serving Bulgarian is no pushover and will be expected to give the Croat a run for his money.
#4. Rafael Nadal vs Federico Delbonis
The 2008 Olympic Champion, Nadal hasn’t been in the best of form lately with injury issues preventing him from being at his very best. However, Nadal is now in good shape and will be expected to redeem himself at Rio. Nadal will be playing 43rd ranked Argentine Federico Delbonis in the first round and this will be their third meeting overall with Nadal being the victor on their previous two meetings.
While Nadal has had a roller coaster season so far owing to injuries, Delbonis has had his best season so far which includes a win over World No. 2 Andy Murray in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. The aggressive Nadal may have not played any tennis since the French Open but has had utilized this long break to prepare himself for the Olympics both physically and mentally.
However, Delbonis cannot be written off as he might have a trick or two up his sleeve for Nadal. All eyes will be on Nadal to see if he can put up a good showing after not playing for quite some time. An early victory for Nadal will be a morale-booster for him and will definitely propel him to give the spectators a glimpse of his lethality.
#3. Andy Murray vs Victor Troicki
Murray had a brilliant run at the London Olympics four years ago, beating Djokovic in the semis before beating Federer in the final to clinch the gold medal. Four years on, Murray has been in the form of his life and has won three Grand Slams. Murray ended as runners-up of both the Australian and French Opens before winning the Wimbledon Championships.
At Rio, Murray’s first opponent will be 30-year old Viktor Troicki whom he will be facing for the eighth time in his career, having won their previous seven meetings with the last one coming at the semi-finals of the Queen’s Club Championships last year. The most intense match featuring the two came at the fourth round of the 2011 French Open where Troicki took the first two sets and at one point was serving for the match before Murray staged a comeback and won the match in five sets.
Murray is a heavy favorite to bag the gold medal this time but his battle against the Serb will definitely not be a cakewalk as the World No. 35 will be looking to put up a strong fight through his all-court play. However, Murray’s work rate combined with Troicki’s poor record against Top 10 players (7-55) gives him a strong advantage and he will be expected to overcome the former World No. 12.
#2. Kei Nishikori vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
The World No.6 has been in promising form lately and will be coming to Rio with a lot of confidence, having reached the final of the Rogers Cup before losing to Novak Djokovic. Owing to the absence of the likes of Federer and Wawrinka, Nishikori has been seeded 4th at the Olympics and will be looking to better his quarter-final finish at London.
Nishikori’s first match at Rio will be against 33rd ranked Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas who has had his best season so far, having reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and having won the Swedish Open. This will be the fifth meeting between Nishikori and Ramos-Vinolas with Nishikori having won their first three outings before losing in their most recent clash at the 2013 Barcelona Open.
Nishikori has been in consistent form but is bound to face a tough challenge from the Spaniard who has registered wins against the likes of Roger Federer and Milos Raonic. Nevertheless, the 26-year old Japanese will be considered the overwhelming favorite and if he can be at the top of his game, then he is bound to be a strong contender for a spot at the podium.
#1. Novak Djokovic vs Juan Martin Del Potro
A rematch of the bronze medal match of the 2012 London Olympics; it doesn’t get any better than this. While Djokovic has been a dominant figure in the sport in the past couple of years, the 27-year old Argentine has so far made a brilliant comeback after taking a brief hiatus from the sport owing to a wrist injury; having climbed from a ranking of 1042 to World No. 144 in a span of nearly six months.
Their encounter at Rio will be their 15th meeting overall and their second meeting at the Olympics with Djokovic winning 11 of their previous encounters and Del Potro having won their last meeting at the Olympics in London. The two have played many close matches earlier including a mammoth five-setter at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. Djokovic will definitely be the clear favorite heading into the match having won the recently concluded Rogers Cup following a disappointing outing at the Wimbledon where he lost in the third round.
However, the 2009 US Open champion cannot be written off as he is a tricky opponent to beat and has proved that he can be more than a match for the top ranked players, having beaten Stan Wawrinka in the second round of this year’s Wimbledon Championships. So, will Djokovic make a winning start to his Olympic campaign or will Del Potro produce one of the upsets of the tournament? The answer is anyone’s guess.
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