Djokovic perplexed by ‘illogical’ Olympic entry rules after routing Ebden

Novak Djokovic said he believes Olympic entry rules present tennis in a bad light after the Serb demolished Matthew Ebden, a doubles specialist who has retired from singles, 6-0, 6-1 in the first round here.

Djokovic, the top seed, eased past Ebden in 53 minutes while barely breaking a sweat as the Australian sprayed unforced errors and  struggled to keep up in most rallies longer than four shots. He won his only game when Djokovic was leading 6-0, 4-0 and coasting to victory.

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While Ebden was once in the top 50, he arrived in Paris without any intention of competing in singles. He had not played a singles match since August 2022 after opting to retire from individual competition in order to focus on his flourishing doubles career, where he is ranked No 3.

But there have been numerous withdrawals from the competition, with Jannik Sinner, Andy Murray, Hubert Hurkacz and Holger Rune all departing . Depending on the timing of the withdrawals, most regular tournaments would either move the next highest-ranked player on the entry list into the main draw or reinstate one of the players who lost in the final qualifying round as a lucky loser.

At the Olympics, which has no qualifying draw, players who withdraw after 19 July must be replaced by the highest-ranked singles players already on-site in the doubles draw.

“I really don’t understand the rules,” said Djokovic. They’re really not logical for me – that if somebody withdraws or cancels before or when the draw is made then you call doubles players to play singles.”

“I don’t think it’s a good image for the sport. There were a lot of singles players that had plenty of time, that were alternates, that could’ve been called to come. So this part I don’t get.

“I really hope the ITF [International Tennis Federation] along with the Olympics will consider changing this rule because it’s tough on Matthew because he hasn’t played a singles practice in two years.”

This is not an issue in the women’s draw, since numerous doubles players are also established in the singles. In the past few days, Sara Errani, a former French Open finalist and the world No 95, and Lulu Sun, who surprisingly reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon this month and is now ranked No 55, have replaced injured players.

In men’s tennis, though, singles and doubles tours are far more distinct, partly because most players opt out of competing in doubles at grand slam tournaments in order to preserve their bodies for best of five sets. Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed, also enjoyed a complete mismatch in his opening round, beating Lebanon’s Hady Habib, the world No 275, 6-3, 6-1.

The difference between the rules in Olympic tournaments and regular events is primarily down to logistics. Each Olympic event has a quota on the number of athletes that can be accredited and a deadline for when they can be replaced. According to the organisers, the deadline for changes to the entry lists were later than many other sports.

Iga Swiatek, the top seed and tournament favourite, reached the second round with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Irina-Camelia Begu. Jasmine Paolini, who lost in the French Open final to Swiatek last month, also reached the second round with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Ana Bogdan.

Beyond the matches on the covered top two courts, the first day was ravaged by rain with all matches on the outdoor courts postponed until Sunday .