This is the earliest stage of a tournament the pair have ever met, with Nadal far from the almost invincible player who dominated on clay for well over a decade.
The 38-year-old — who has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles at the French Open — believes old rival Djokovic will be favourite when they meet for the 60th time.
“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 favourite,” said Nadal, who holds an 8-2 head-to-head advantage over the Serb at Roland Garros.
“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.”
Djokovic, chasing a first Olympic gold to add to his 24 Grand Slams, expects the clash to deliver.
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