Olympics R1 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Fucsovics, Musetti vs. Monfils

Rafael Nadal will kick off his singles campaign at the Olympics when he faces Marton Fucsovics during first-round action on Sunday. Lorenzo Musetti will be making a quick turnaround when he goes up against Gael Monfils.

Marton Fucsovics vs. Rafael Nadal

As always, Nadal is a question mark from a physical standpoint going into a tournament–this time at the Paris Olympics. The 38-year-old Spaniard is dealing with a thigh injury and played with plenty of wrapping on it in his doubles match with Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday. Nadal and Alcaraz beat Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6(4), 6-4, but it did little to eliminate any doubts about the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s status for singles.

Up first for Nadal on Sunday is Fucsovics, whom the former world No. 1 has never faced. Although Fucsovics has mostly struggled this season, his clay-court efforts include a title in Bucharest. As such, the 83rd-ranked Hungarian is not entirely without confidence. Even if Novak Djokovic was not looming in the second round, Nadal would still have a much better chance of winning a medal in doubles. He will likely be able to devote all of his attention to that event for the remainder of the week.

Pick: Fucsovics in 2

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(11) Lorenzo Musetti vs. Gael Monfils

Musetti will have zero days off following a brutal loss in the Umag final as he heads into a first-round showdown at the Olympics against Monfils. The red-hot Italian fell to Francisco Cerunolo 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) on Sunday, but nonetheless this remains an incredible summer for him. Musetti reached the semifinals in Stuttgart, finished runner-up at Queen’s Club, and made a surprising run to the last four at Wimbledon.

Monfils was not bad, himself, on grass. The 37-year-old Frenchman advanced to the semis in Mallorca and the third around at the All-England Club. Still, the season has been lackluster overall for Monfils and he got blown out by Musetti 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 a couple of months ago at Roland Garros. Either way, this is almost certainly going to be a quick match. Musetti is the much better player these days, but if his gas tank is running on empty then Monfils may be able to take advantage.

Pick: Musetti in 2

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