Rafael Nadal recently erased all the doubts surrounding his ability to tackle the challenges in the singles. Despite the floating concerns of his withdrawal from the singles campaign of the Paris Olympics, the Spaniard stepped on the court and downed his opening match rival Marton Fucsovics. However, the real game begins now as Rafa is set to be in a showdown against Novak Djokovic. Here’s what the renowned coach Rick Macci has to say about it.

Rafael Nadal’s recent win at Roland Garros has set the stage for an epic 60th showdown with Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics. Nadal secured a remarkable 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win against Fucsovics and is now set to face his longtime rival Djokovic in the men’s singles second round.

Tennis coach Rick Macci also couldn’t hold his thoughts on this highly anticipated match in an exclusive interview with ES. “Nadal and Djokovic have played each other I think 59 times. How crazy is that! We get lost in the number! I mean 59 of anything’s a lot. Let alone looking on the other side of the net at some guy. People forget that we’re all in the moment,” he said, highly anticipating the showdown as a superfan.

Rick Macci picks his favorite for the historic clash

Macci announced Novak Djokovic as the clear favorite. “Yeah, that’d be must-see TV! It’d be one like the cherry on top of the ice cream you know, obviously, Djokovic would be the one to be favored to win if they get there but that would just be….what a way to put a bow around something that’s become more than epic,” the 69-year-old added.

Nadal and Djokovic’s head-to-head record is slightly in the latter’s favor at 30-29. Their last encounter was recorded two years ago when the Spaniard emerged victorious in the quarter-final at Roland Garros. With 46 Grand Slam singles titles between them and Nadal’s 14 singles titles at the Roland Garros, the upcoming match is nothing less than a historic event.

Although everyone seems to be excited about the match, Rafa is concerned about the high competitive levels of his rival. “Of course it’s beautiful to play against one of the two biggest rivals that I had in my career, especially on this court,” Nadal said.

“But situations are completely different for him, for me. He’s being very competitive. I was not being very competitive for the last two years, so in that case, I think probably he is the clear favorite. I’m going to try my best to bring the best to the court and then let’s see how far I can go and how many problems I can create [for] him,” the Spaniard further acknowledged.

As Nadal gears up to face Novak Djokovic, fans around the world are eager to witness probably the last chapter in this legendary rivalry. Besides Nadal, Djokovic also expressed his excitement about being locked in a match against Rafa.

Novak Djokovic is excited to perform the “Last Dance”

It isn’t just Rafael Nadal who came forward to drop his thoughts about the upcoming showdown against Novak Djokovic. The Serb also couldn’t stop himself from acknowledging that it would be nothing less than an exciting opportunity. “Yeah, I mean, obviously he (Nadal) hasn’t played much and his ranking drops,” Djokovic said, acknowledging the tough time that Rafa has navigated through.

Nole was hoping for Rafa to win his first-round match so that the two of them could face off again, probably for a last dance and it’s all set to be a cracker now. “There’s always going to be that possibility of meeting him in early rounds and there we go, you know, it’s going to be a spectacle. Definitely, if we get to meet, expect some fireworks on the court. Like the good old times. I hope we get to meet because there will probably be one last dance for both of us,” the Serb added.

Ever since Rafael Nadal found his way back to the scenes, the fans wished for this matchup. While the stars are finally aligned in the right pattern, it remains to be seen who emerges victorious.