Olympics star leaves tennis fans in stitches with reaction to drawing Novak Djokovic
One Olympics tennis star has been handed a toughest draw imaginable with the prospect of facing Novak Djokovic and potentially Rafael Nadal in Paris.
Matthew Ebden reacted with a look of horror after being handed the most difficult draw imaginable ahead of the men's singles tennis tournament at the 2024 Olympics.
Ebden is only participating after stepping in at the last minute as an alternate, having been selected to represent Australia in the doubles' draw.
The 36-year-old has been brought into the singles' draw following the withdrawal of Jannik Sinner and Hubert Hurkacz. Andy Murray then pulled out hours before the draw, leaving an unassigned slot in the draw to face Sebastian Ofner.
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The Australian got his reward from being included in the draw as he was pitted against 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the opening round of the knockout tournament.
As if that wasn't tough enough, Ebden could then face Spain's Rafael Nadal in the next round - and that's only if he were to beat Djokovic against the odds.
Needless to say, the veteran player was under no illusions about the task facing him in Paris. Reacting to the news on social media, Ebden posted a video to his Instagram account with a hilarious expression painted across his face.
The veteran star jokingly stared into the camera looking aghast and his eyes then widened during the brief four-second clip.
The caption on the video read: "When you find out you got into alternate into the Olympics singles only to draw @djokernole 1st round to play @rafaelnadal in the 2nd round."
And it's fair to say Ebden didn't rate his chances of claiming a shock win for his country either, picking the 'Mission Impossible' theme tune to play in the background to sum up his thoughts about the draw.
Matt Ebden’s reaction to finding out he plays Novak Djokovic in the 1st round & Rafa Nadal in the 2nd round of the Olympics
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 25, 2024
pic.twitter.com/oAXhLb5qKm
Ebden's career in tennis has mainly centred around his journey to becoming world No. 1 in the men's doubles. He reached the top of the ATP rankings in February this year and is currently ranked third, with two doubles' Majors to his name at Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open in 2024.
His career-best singles' ranking saw him rise to 39th in the world in 2018, although he has never progressed beyond the third round of a Major, which he achieved in Wimbledon six years ago. As a contrast, Djokovic and Nadal are two of the most decorated tennis players of all time and have 46 Grand Slam titles between them.
Of course, the Olympics provides a different setting to ATP Tour tennis, with Djokovic only ever managing a bronze medal at Beijing in 2008. With that in mind, Ebden may fancy his chances on the clay courts at Roland Garros, where Djokovic has won the fewest titles out of all four Slams.