An historic Golden Slam remains in play after world No. 1 Novak Djokovic safely navigated his first-round clash with Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien amid sweltering heat at Ariake Tennis Park.

Top seed Djokovic prevailed 6-2 6-2 as his quest for Olympic gold began in routine fashion, with the Serbian now set to face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, who overcame Thiago Monteiro of Brazil, in the second round.

Having already clinched the three Grand Slams up for grabs so far this season, Djokovic has the opportunity to take a seismic step towards the most coveted and career-defining achievement of them all.

While Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams have all secured career Golden Slams, Steffi Graf, who swept the board at all four majors and the Seoul Olympics in 1988, is the only player to have claimed a calendar Golden Slam.

In terms of the golden leg of the quest, Djokovic is up and running, and the feeling after round one at Tokyo 2020 is a world away from the emotions he felt five years ago at the Rio de Janeiro Games.

Djokovic’s Rio 2016 campaign had barely begun when he left the court in tears after succumbing to Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in the first round, later describing the defeat as one of the toughest of his career.

“I cry a lot, you just don’t see it,” said Djokovic, who is contesting his fourth Olympic Games. “The Olympics, representing your country, has always raised the expectations, the pressure and the emotional involvement from my side. All the tennis players and athletes would agree.

“It’s just a different kind of energy, coming into the Olympics and representing your country, than any other tournament. The Olympics is once every four years; we have four Grand Slams and many tournaments every year in our sport – we are lucky to have many opportunities.

“But the Olympics, it’s four years. That’s why the build-up is so important, and of course if you lose you feel like the whole world fell apart in that moment. But the next day you move on – that’s sport. Hopefully I can keep smiling in a week’s time, let’s see.”

If Djokovic’s passage to the second round was achieved with customary ease, that of second seed Daniil Medvedev was a little trickier as a hard-fought battle with Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik unfolded.

ROC’s Medvedev progressed, however, winning 6-4 7-6(8) following a second-set tiebreak, and he will now tackle India’s Sumit Nagal for a place in round three.

Incidentally, Medvedev overcame Bublik in the opening round of Roland Garros earlier this year before advancing to the quarter-finals and the 25-year-old is hoping for a repeat run to a tournament’s business end here.

“There are a few players that you don’t want to play in the first round, like [Marton] Fucsovics, [Jan-Lennard] Struff, Bublik – I’ve played them a lot in first rounds lately, and it’s not easy.

“But the good thing is, you know that if you manage to go through this round, you’re going to have some momentum. That’s what happened at Roland Garros: it was not an easy match against him, but I managed to beat him and went on to win many matches in a row.

“I hope it’s going to be the same here.”

In setting up a second-round showdown with Medvedev, Nagal became the first Indian man to win an Olympic singles match since Leander Paes claimed bronze at Atlanta in 1996, some 25 years ago. The 23-year-old dispatched Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-4 6-7(6) 6-4.

Elsewhere in the men’s singles draw, No. 6 seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain stormed into the second round at the expense of American Tennys Sandgren, winning 7-5 6-2.

Fellow seeds Fabio Fognini, Aslan Karatsev, Lorenzo Sonego, Ugo Humbert and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also advanced following victories over home favourite Yuichi Sugita, Tommy Paul, Taro Daniel of Japan, Pablo Andujar and Pedro Sousa respectively. 

In the women’s singles draw, Poland’s Iga Swiatek ensured she had an Olympic debut to remember as she made light work of Mona Barthel of Germany, winning 6-2 6-2 in just 67 minutes.

Swiatek, who was crowned Roland Garros women’s champion in 2020, was once again in the spotlight and she kicked-off the Olympic Tennis Event – her clash with Barthel was the first on Centre Court – in some considerable style.

By claiming victory, the 20-year-old also maintained and enhanced her Olympic legacy. Swiatek secured doubles gold alongside Kaja Juvan at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018, while her father, Tomasz, competed in the men’s quadruple sculls event at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

“My Dad’s told me a lot about the Olympics,” said Swiatek. “I couldn’t actually imagine it properly, but for sure it’s a special event. It’s different than any other tournament. I know that right now I really feel the Olympic vibe.”

Swiatek will now face Paula Badosa in round two after the Spaniard overcame the challenge of France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the opening round, recovering from a set down to win 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0.

There was Centre Court success for another Roland Garros champion in the form of Barbora Krejcikova, who was leading 5-2 in the opening set when Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan was forced to retire due to a leg injury.

Next up for No. 8 seed Krejcikova, who conquered all before on the clay courts of Paris in June, is Canadian teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez, who defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-3 3-6 6-0 on her Olympic debut.

There was also first-round joy for ROC’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, this year’s Roland Garros runner-up and the No. 13 seed here, as she cantered past Sara Errani of Italy 6-0 6-1. Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany lies in wait following her victory over Great Britain’s Heather Watson.

No. 9 seed Belinda Bencic, meanwhile, chalked up a 6-3 6-3 win against Jessica Pegula of the United States and will now go head-to-head with home favourite Misaki Doi, who accounted for Mexico’s Renata Zarazua, for a place in round three.

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, who is seeded No. 15 here, triumphed in straight sets against former US Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia, with Rebecca Peterson of Sweden her next opponent. Peterson defeated Mayar Sherif, the first female Egyptian tennis player to qualify for an Olympic Games, 7-5 7-6(1).