“I don’t think it’s a good image for the sport, to be honest,”
The top seed Novak commented after his 6-0, 6-1 victory over Matthew Ebden, a 36-year-old doubles player from Australia.
Novak Djokovic smiled along with everyone else when his first-round Paris Olympics opponent was so thrilled just to win a game on Saturday that he celebrated by pulling his shirt over his head, baring his chest.
However, after securing his 6-0, 6-1 victory in under an hour, Djokovic was less amused. He expressed his view that someone like Matthew Ebden—a 36-year-old doubles player from Australia who hadn’t competed in a tour-level, main-draw singles match since June 2022—shouldn’t have been on the court without a partner at the Summer Games.
“I really don’t understand the rules. They’re really not logical for me,” said Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion aiming for his first Olympic gold medal.
“I don’t think it’s a good image for the sport, to be honest,” he continued, regarding the inclusion of a doubles player in the singles competition at the Olympics. “There were a lot of singles players with plenty of time who were alternates and could have been called to come. This part I don’t get.”
Carlos Alcaraz, a four-time major champion, also found the situation unusual.
“It’s a difficult rule, I guess. Honestly, there are a lot of players who deserve to be here and playing in the Olympic Games,” Alcaraz said after his first-round win on Saturday. “I think it should be different because the next singles player in the rankings deserves to be here if someone withdraws from the tournament.”
Ebden hasn’t had a singles ranking since he was No. 970 the week of May 29, 2023. However, he was already in Paris to compete in men’s doubles—where he’s been ranked as high as No. 1 and is currently No. 3, having won two major championships—which made him available for the singles competition when 16th-ranked Holger Rune of Denmark withdrew due to a wrist injury.