Djokovic to play Olympic nemesis, Del Potro in first round

After downing Federer for gold, he went on to become the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title in 76 years when he triumphed at the US Open.

Third seed Nadal, a potential semi-final opponent for Djokovic, faces Argentine Federico Delbonis in round one.

“But I’ve got to stay humble, I’ve got to take a very cautious mindset into this Olympic Games”.

“The Olympic Games is much larger than tennis, much larger than you”. I want to grasp this wonderful energy. To win the Grand Slam in Paris was an unforgettable experience, but it’s passed.

But he bounced back by claiming his 30th Masters title in Toronto last week and believes his Wimbledon disappointment has helped his chances of Olympic success. The biggest challenger I see for Djokovic is American Jack Sock, and another American Steve Johnson or Italian Fabio Fognini are the biggest worries for Murray. He was fourth in the world in 2010, but has obviously stumbled since then.

Give me Djokovic in straight sets.

Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam title victor, admitted his best medal chance may be in the doubles where he is playing with Marc Lopez and mixed with Garbine Muguruza. “It would mean the world to me to crown my career with gold, it would rank as one of the highest achievements of my career”, he said.

Only half the men’s top 10 have made the trip to Brazil.

Wawrinka and Swiss teammate Roger Federer both pulled out of the Olympics because of injuries.

“What I have heard and read about what’s been going on over the last few months is not good for us, for global sport, for the Olympics”, said Serb star Djokovic.

Second seed Andy Murray, who will be Great Britain’s flag-bearer, will face Viktor Troicki, who he has beaten in all seven of their past meetings, first up.

“We ended up talking a little bit about the event schedule and when he was competing and when I was competing and took a photo and wished each other luck and walked away”, Phelps said.

Djokovic, whose best performance was a bronze medal at the Beijing Games in 2008, is the top seed at the tournament which gets underway on Saturday.