Djokovic edges Nadal in battle of veterans at Paris Olympics

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The two tennis legends faced off for the 60th time, with Djokovic claiming a hard-fought victory

Novak Djokovic has overcome his great rival Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-4 to reach the third round of the men's tennis singles at the Paris Olympics.

The match was a classic encounter between two of the greatest players of all time, with both men showing glimpses of their brilliance.

Djokovic was the more aggressive player from the outset, and he broke Nadal's serve in the opening game of the match.

Nadal fought back to level the scores at 1-1, but Djokovic broke his serve again in the third game and went on to take the first set 6-1.

Djokovic continued to dominate in the second set, and he broke Nadal's serve in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead.

Nadal saved two break points in the seventh game, but Djokovic was able to break his serve again in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead.

Djokovic then served out the match to claim a hard-fought victory.

The win gives Djokovic a 31-29 lead in his head-to-head record against Nadal.

Nadal leads 82 at the French Open and 21 at the US Open while Djokovic leads 20 at the Australian Open and 21 at Wimbledon.