Novak Djokovic began his quest for an elusive Olympic gold with a dominant win over late alternate Matt Ebden.
Novak Djokovic, eyeing the lone big hardware missing in his vast collection, was a man on a mission Saturday, demolishing Matt Ebden, 6-0, 6-1 to jumpstart his bid for a Paris 2024 gold at the Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Djokovic, three times a winner in the very same court for Roland Garros, could well be on his way to meeting his longtime rival, Rafael Nadal, the 14-time champion of the Parisian major, in the second round.
But the Spaniard would have to first do his part against Marton Fuscovics in his own opening match to secure what could be his 60th head-to-head meeting with Djokovic.
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The Serb holds a slim 30-29 edge over Nadal, though the Spaniard boasts of a semifinal win over his archrival in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he eventually won the gold.
As for Djokovic's first match in his fifth Olympic appearance, he conjured a trouble-free victory in just 53 minutes against Ebden, winning 10 straight games before allowing the Australian to get on the board at 1-4 in the second set.
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But that would be the only game Ebden would log as Djokovic took the last two to get the job done.
Djokovic, who boasts of 98 titles, including 24 Grand Slams, 40 ATP Masters 1000s and record ATP Finals titles - all records - is looking to improve his lone medal showing in the Games, a bronze in his Olympic debut in 2008.
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Ebden, World No. 3 doubles player who last saw action in singles two years ago, was a late alternate to world No. 16 Holger Rune. The Dane withdrew from what could have been his first Olympic stint due to wrist pain.
Ebden will still see action in doubles with countryman John Peers.