Rafael Nadal has threatened to withdraw from the singles tournament at the Olympics over being scheduled to play at 2pm in Paris the day after finishing a doubles match at 10pm.
The Spanish tennis legend returned to Roland Garros primarily to compete with Carlos Alcaraz in a dream doubles pairing.
Nadal, who lost in the first round of the French Open this year, also entered the singles draw in the hope of making another deep run on his favourite clay courts.
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But he is now considering pulling out just hours before he is due to play Hungarian veteran Marton Fucsovics.
Nadal and Alcaraz defeated Argentine sixth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 on a rain-interrupted first day of action.
And the 38-year-old’s mood quickly changed when he subsequently learned he had been scheduled to play his first singles match in about 16 hours’ time.
“I don’t understand the schedule, it seems outrageous to me when I’m playing tomorrow at 2pm,” Nadal said in Spanish, having used the word ‘barbaridad’ to describe the situation.
“I don’t know, I’ll have to go back to the village and talk to the team.
“I’ll make the decision that I think is most appropriate to have a chance of getting results for Spain.”
Nadal has been troubled by injury this year and it is unclear just how long he will continue playing.
“I never said that,” he replied when asked if he could join Andy Murray in retiring after the Olympics.
“I don’t know. I didn’t make any decision to say anything.”
Retirement had seemed more likely but Nadal was speaking more positively about his tennis at times during the clay season.
Such was his feeling that he rejected an offer to be feted at the French Open, but a first-round exit, albeit to title contender Alexander Zverev, threw fresh doubt on whether he would be back in 2025.
He warmed up for the Olympics by reaching the final of an ATP tournament in Bastad.
Still, his difficult path to a singles medal was made even more treacherous when the draw put him on the path to a second-round meeting with No.1 seed Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic suffered a torn meniscus at the French Open but bounced back from surgery and a lack of match practice to reach the Wimbledon final earlier this month.
The Serbian strolled through his first match at the Olympics, defeating Australian doubles specialist Matt Ebden 6-0 6-1 in just 53 minutes.
And so Nadal must now decide whether to punish his body in a potential loss to Djokovic to the possible detriment of his doubles hopes.
He will need to win four more matches with Alcaraz to take home a medal of any colour.
Djokovic, speaking after his win and before Nadal issued his threat, said he simply wanted his Spanish rival to win through to the second round.
“There’s great hype around that match,” the Serbian smiled.
“I’ve done my part of the job, obviously he has to win his first round tomorrow.
“It can be a blockbuster, one of the events people are looking forward to at this Olympics and I’m looking forward to what could be our last dance, so to say, on this court.”
Nadal was involved in the Olympics opening ceremony as one of the final torch bearers, capitalising on his popularity in Paris as a 14-time champion of the French Open.
