Corinne Dubreuil/ABACAPRESS.COM
Novak Djokovic vs Matthew Ebden: Olympic Tennis tournament – First round
The 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is starting his route for the Olympic gold against Matthew Ebden in the first round of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Novak Djokovic Profile
Novak Djokovic lost the top spot in the ATP rankings after the French Open and is currently second on that list. The Serbian is 23-7 for the season and 10-3 on clay.
He is coming off a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. Djokovic has yet to win a title this season, which is the first time since 2005.
He reached the semifinals in Geneva, Monte Carlo, and the Australian Open this season.
Matthew Ebden Profile
Matthew Ebden currently does not have singles rankings since he hasn’t played a match in singles since 2023 and so far in 2024. The Australian is ranked third in doubles at the moment.
The last time he played a singles match was in 2022, when he finished the season with a 4-8 record. He has never won an ATP singles title, and the last one he won on the lower level was in the Busan Challenger in 2018.
Ebden and his fellow Australian John Peers are one of the favorites in the doubles competition.
Head-to-Head
This will be the first match between Novak Djokovic and Matthew Ebden.
Prediction and Conclusion
There is only one title that Novak Djokovic has not won in his career, and that is the Olympic gold medal. Given the fact that the Serbian is 37 years old, it is a fact that this is the last chance for him to win gold for his nation. The first seed of the tournament will have an easy task in the opening round since he will face Matthew Ebden, who has not played in a singles match in almost two years. The Australian is completely focused on doubles play, and the only reason he jumped in in the singles draw is because Holger Rune withdrew from the tournament. The quality and the motivation are completely on Djokovic’s side, and the Serbian will win this one by covering the 6.5-game spread.