Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are familiar foes.
But almost always, they’re squaring off toward the end of a tennis tournament — not the second round.
The latter scenario is what we have at the Olympics after Nadal beat Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round on Sunday at Roland Garros.
The win set up a get-your-popcorn-ready, Round-of-32 clash in Paris, following Djokovic’s 6-1, 6-0 win over Matthew Ebden of Australia on Saturday.
“If we get to face each other, it’s going to be possibly the last time we’re going to face each other on a big stage,” Djokovic told reporters Saturday, per ESPN. “So I’m sure that people would enjoy it. I’m looking forward to it, and I’ll be ready for that matchup.”
Djokovic, the top seed, has a slim 30-29 lead on Nadal in head-to-head competition. They’ve never played against each other before the quarterfinals in a traditional tournament.
Nadal, who was selected to take part in the Olympic torch-lighting ceremony at the Paris opening ceremony, beat Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2008 Beijing Games en route to gold.
The Spaniard, 38, is the king of clay, having won 14 career French Open titles at the same Roland Garros stadium.
But Djokovic, 37, has a record 24 Grand Slam titles, two more than Nadal.
The Serb is still looking for his first Olympic medal.
