Novak Djokovic slammed an Olympic rule after winning his opening match in Paris.
Novak Djokovic has called out Olympic bosses over a rule that he believes is ruining the “image” of tennis.
The world No. 2 needed just 53 minutes to demolish his first-round opponent in Paris. Matthew Ebden was placed in the draw as an alternate following withdrawals but the Australian doubles star had not played a singles match since 2022.
And Djokovic now wants the International Olympic Committee and the International Tennis Federation to rethink the regulations for future Games.
Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune were among several high-profile players who pulled out before the Olympics draw was made on Thursday morning. Under the guidelines for the tennis event, any withdrawals that came after July 19 were replaced by doubles players.
It meant that Ebden – a doubles world No. 3 who is unranked in singles – was subbed in and drawn to face top seed Djokovic in the first round. It was a brutal affair on Court Philippe-Chatrier as Djokovic led 6-0 4-0 before the Aussie finally got himself on the board, 46 minutes in. Djokovic went on to win 6-0 6-1.
