Olympics tennis draw announced | Djokovic faces tough first round, Serena has it easy

08/04/2016

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The draws for the Olympic tennis event were announced today and No.1 seed Novak Djokovic will face 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the first round. In the women's draw, Serena Williams has it easy, while No.3 seed Garbine Muguruza will face former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic.

Defending Olympic and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has a relatively easy draw with him slated against World No.35 Viktor Troiki in the first round. Rafael Nadal, who is the third seed and the Gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is back on court and will Federico del Bonis of Argentina. That should give him some much-needed match practice as he embarks on his recovery. Fourth seed Kei Nishikori will face World No. 33 Spaniard Albert Ramos.

But the biggest of the first-round encounters will be Novak Djokovic's match against 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro. Del Potro had, in fact, stopped Djokovic's medal run in 2012 by winning the bronze-medal play-off in the London Olympics. The World No. 1, however, has his best shot at an Olympic Gold medal that has been missing from his cabinet so far and would look to overcome the early test.

Check the official blog here for further information on the draws.

In the women's singles draw, World No.1 and defending champion Serena Williams will face Daria Gavrilova in the opening round, while Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber will take on Mary Duque Marino.

Possible #Rio2016 @Olympics Quarterfinals

🇺🇸 Serena vs Vinci 🇮🇹

🇪🇸 Muguruza vs Venus 🇺🇸

🇺🇸 Keys vs Radwanska 🇵🇱

🇷🇺 Kuznetsova vs Kerber 🇩🇪
— WTA (@WTA) August 4, 2016