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Novak Djokovic was less than impressed by being made to compete against doubles specialist Matthew Ebden in the opening round of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Serb called out the ITF and the Olympic committee for the seemingly “illogical” replacement method used to make the draws.
Djokovic hit the ground running in Paris with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Matthew Ebden on Saturday, July 27. The Serb is bidding for his first gold medal at the Olympics and is the top seed at the event following World No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal.
Novak Djokovic was elated to ease past Ebden but expressed his discontent over his opponent’s inclusion in the draw. Ebden specializes in doubles and has been the World No. 1 in the category. In singles, he'd attained a career-high ranking of No. 39 in 2022 but hadn't played a single match since that year.
However, the Aussie was awarded a spot in the men’s singles main draw after Holger Rune’s withdrawal. According to the ITF rule, following late withdrawals at the Olympics, players who have already qualified for the event (in other categories) but haven’t secured their place in singles are eligible to occupy the vacant spot instead of the next highest-ranked singles player.
"I really don't understand the rules," Novak Djokovic told the media following his win.
The World No. 2 said the rule is a bad look for the sport and termed it “not logical.”
"It's not logical for me that you have someone withdraws from singles and you call up a doubles player to play singles," he added. "I don't think it's a good image for the sport, to be honest. There are lots of singles players that had plenty of time to get here and could have been called to come."
Following their match, Matthew Ebden “apologized” to the Serb for failing to put up a fight. The Aussie, who has won two men’s doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slams, called it his “official retirement” from singles.
"So this part I don't get at all. I hope the ITF (International Tennis Federation) and the Olympics change the rule because it was tough on Matt. He hasn't played singles in two years," Novak Djokovic said in that regard.
Novak Djokovic awaits a seasoned singles player in Rafael Nadal or Marton Fucsovics in the second round at Paris Olympics
While Novak Djokovic has had a seemingly odd start to his campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he won’t have a cakewalk second-round match.
The top seed awaits the winner between Marton Fucsovics and his biggest rival, Rafael Nadal, in the next round. Fucsovics enjoyed a career-high of No. 31 and won his second career title earlier this year.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, is no stranger to Stade Roland-Garros, having won the French Open a historic 14 times. The Spaniard has also beaten the Serb eight times en route to those titles. However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, who is contesting men's doubles with Carlos Alcaraz, recently cast doubt over competing in singles in light of his hectic schedule and his injury-laden campaign.
