NEW DELHI: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are set to face off in a highly-anticipated match at the Paris Olympics on Monday, while Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmuss is seen as a strong favourite to win his second Olympic gold medal.
On the third day of competition, British diver Tom Daley will try to thwart an expected Chinese dominance in the diving events, while China and Japan will compete for the top spot in the men’s gymnastics team final.
“You can also go for gold in archery, canoeing, mountain biking, equestrianism, fencing, judo, shooting and skateboarding.”
The highly-anticipated tournament will be held at Roland Garros and will see Djokovic and Nadal face off for the 60th time, with the Serb currently leading 30-29.
Nadal has so far dominated on the clay courts in the French capital but the 38-year-old Spaniard, who is plagued by injury concerns and nearing the end of his career, acknowledged Djokovic has the “clear advantage” in this encounter.
“Of course it’s great to play against one of the two biggest rivals of my career, especially on this court,” Nadal said.
“But it’s a completely different situation for him and for me. He’s very competitive. I haven’t been very competitive the last two years.”
The world’s best swimmers will compete for five titles in another thrilling night in the pool.
Titmuss, who defended her title in the 400m on Saturday by beating rivals Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky, will be looking to claim the 200m freestyle crown in the final race of the night.
The 23-year-old Titmuss, the reigning champion and world record holder, is the favorite to win the 200 meters, with her toughest rival being Molly O’Callaghan of Australia, who held the fastest time in history until Titmuss beat her in June.
“It was hard to take it all in,” the Tasmanian swimmer admitted after a stunning start-to-finish victory in the 400 metres.
“I’m just a good old clumsy Tasmanian girl living the dream,” she said.
“I hope this experience shows that anyone can achieve anything they want if they work hard and believe in themselves.”
Also scheduled for Monday are the finals of the women’s 400-meter individual medley, men’s 200-meter freestyle, men’s 100-meter backstroke and women’s 100-meter breaststroke.
In diving, China leads the way with seven of the eight gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed because of the pandemic.
The only gold medal they missed out on was won by Daly and Matty Lee in the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform.
Daly competed at his first Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 aged just 14, and went on to win three bronze medals and finally a gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012. As one of Britain’s most famous Olympians, he was honoured to be Britain’s men’s flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony on the River Seine.
Daly, 30, believes the Chinese team is under huge pressure to perform well.
“In theory they would win every event but this is the Olympics,” Daly, who is partnered by Noah Williams, told the BBC.
“All the Chinese divers know that it’s their competition to lose. That brings a lot of pressure and expectations.”
China won its first diving gold medal in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard event in Paris, beating the United States and Great Britain.
Reigning champion Yuto Horigome will defend his title in the men’s street skateboarding competition, which was postponed from Saturday because of bad weather. Japan is likely to sweep all three medals, with 2023 world champion Sora Shirai and 14-year-old phenom Ginyu Onodera the favorites, but legendary American skateboarder Nyjah Huston is expected to pose a major threat. Japan won both the gold and silver medals in the women’s street skateboarding competition on Sunday.
In sabre fencing, four-time individual world champion Olga Harlan of Ukraine will be seeking her second Olympic gold medal and the fifth medal overall of her illustrious career.