Djokovic the man to beat: Olympics men’s singles quarter-final line-up

Novak Djokovic continues to look unstoppable at the Tokyo Olympics but there is still work to be done if he’s to win his first Olympic gold medal. The quarter-final line-up in the men’s singles is as follows:

Novak Djokovic (1) v Kei Nishikori
Alexander Zverev (4) v Jeremy Chardy
Karen Khachanov (12) v Ugo Humbert (14)
Daniil Medvedev (2) v Pablo Carreno Busta (6)

Djokovic the big favourite for gold

Djokovic and Nishikori have played each other 18 times in the past but this is a big one, with Nishikori looking for glory on home soil.

The Japanese won the bronze medal in Rio in 2016 but though he beat Nishikori in the semi-finals of the US Open in 2014, he will need to produce perhaps his best ever tennis to stop the juggernaut that is Djokovic, who looked very strong in his 6-3, 6-1 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain on Wednesday.

Victory for Djokovic would put him one step closer to claiming that elusive Olympic gold, having won bronze in Beijing in 2008 but missed out in the semi-finals in 2012 and then lost in the first round in 2016.

Veteran Chardy continues to upset the odds

Jeremy Chardy is the surprise package in the last eight, the Frenchman seeing off Britain’s Liam Broady in three sets to book his place against fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

Zverev has eased through the draw with very little trouble – beating Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 7-6 on Wednesday but though Zverev leads 4-1 in their head to head meetings, Chardy will cling to hope, having beaten the German in 2015.

Russian pair looking strong in bottom half

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov will be favourites for their quarter-final clashes but neither man will take anything for granted.

Second seed Medvedev plays sixth seed Pablo Carreno Busta, having won three of his four battles with the Spaniard, including their last match on grass in Mallorca earlier this summer. The Russian had some physical issues in his 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Fabio Fognini but is confident he’ll be ready to go again.

Khachanov took out eighth seed Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 to reach the last four but he’ll be wary of the threat of the left-handed Ugo Humbert, who stunned fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 on Wednesday.

The schedule on Thursday :