Djokovic knocked Nadal down, then said: The crowd "pushed" Nadal - it had to be that way

Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets (6:1, 6:4) and advanced to the third round, i.e. the round of 16 of the Olympic Games.

You could follow that match LIVE via our LIVE BLOG, as well as other events from Paris.

After the match, Djokovic said:

"It had to get complicated because that's how it happens in our duels, especially in big tournaments. We just played a lot of matches here at Roland Garros and he has a much better score than me on clay. In the last 5 years I managed to find solutions for him, and he was injured, you could see it on the court by his movements, however, whenever he is on the ball he hits excellently... The crowd supported him, pushed him, I doubted my shots and pulled back, so it resulted in a tie in the second set, and then I made a decisive break in the second set, because I knew that everything would go in my favor if I succeeded. Apart from those four games, I played a perfect match and I'm satisfied," said the Serbian tennis player.

Every step of the tournament is being planned...

"Of course it's a relief now when Nadal is gone, like every time when it comes to clay at Roland Garros. I knew it would be difficult for both of us, but I was ready. I trained very well and had enough time to prepare for Nadal, and my game showed that," Djokovic concluded.