Rafael Nadal snaps at reporter after Novak Djokovic defeat at Paris Olympics

Rafael Nadal snapped at reporters after being asked about his retirement plans following a humbling defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics.

Djokovic outclassed his great rival at Roland Garros, winning 6-1 6-4 to continue his bid for an elusive Olympic gold medal.

The margin of victory looked set to be even wider as Djokovic opened up a 4-0 lead in the second set before Nadal threatened to mount a comeback.

Nadal is the undisputed King of Clay having won 14 French Open titles at the Olympic venue, but he struggled after only passing a late fitness test to feature in Paris.

The Spaniard, who will return to Roland Garros to play alongside Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s doubles, has barely played over the past two seasons and hinted he could retire this year.

But Nadal did not take kindly to a question about his possible retirement following the straight-sets defeat to Djokovic.

‘Every day, huh? Every day you want me to retire, every day guys,’ he said in his post-match press conference. ‘You ask me for that every single day.

‘I am trying to do my best every single day. I answer but I cannot answer every single day with the feeling that it’s going to be or not going to be my last match.

‘I come here, I try my best, I play and when I decide to stop playing or when I decide to keep going, I will let you know.

‘I don’t know, I just try my best every single day, trying to enjoy a thing that I have been enjoying for so much time.

‘I have been suffering a lot of injuries the last two years so if I feel that I am not competitive enough to keep going or physically I’m not ready enough to keep going, I will stop and I will let you know.

‘But I mean, I don’t think every day about if I am retiring or not.’

On his defeat to Djokovic, Nadal added: ‘Playing against Novak, without creating damage to him and without having the legs of, 20 years ago is, is almost impossible now.’

Djokovic, who dismantled Australia’s Matthew Ebden in the first round, is now a step closer to clinching an Olympic medal for Serbia.

‘I’m very relieved,’ he said. ‘Everything was going my way, I was 6-1, 4-0 up but I played a sloppy service game and gave him chances.

‘I never thought back in 2006 that we’d still be playing each other almost 20 years later.’

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