Novak Djokovic entered 2016 with an opportunity to check off a few items on a to-do list which comprised of winning the very few top-level tournaments that have escaped him in his illustrious career. He began by earning the title at Roland Garros to complete a career grand slam and during the upcoming week, will look to win his first gold medal.  And while the numerous player withdrawals have watered down the field somewhat, there are still opportunities for some intriguing matches.

The world no. 1 will have to go to work right away in a first round match against former U. S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro.  The Argentine is in the midst of another comeback from injury but can certainly still be a dangerous opponent for Djokovic.

If the Serb advances, it looks to be smooth sailing to the quarterfinals with American Jack Sock likely to be his toughest test.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be the favorite to meet Djokovic in the quarterfinals and while the Frenchman is generally a tough test, the top-seed has won 14 out their last 15 matches.

In the second portion of the draw, Rafael Nadal returns to tennis for the first time since withdrawing from Roland Garros and is a three-seed.  If healthy, he has a favorable draw with potential matchups against Andreas Seppi and Gilles Simon on his way to the quarterfinals.  Borna Coric could have a say in the proceedings as he faces Simon in the opening round.  Meanwhile, David Goffin will be the heavy favorite to face Nadal in the quarterfinals.  Interestingly, these two players have never met previously.

The third quarter of the draw features a red-hot Gael Monfils, former U. S. Open titlist Marin Cilic and world no. 7 Kei Nishikori.  Monfils won the title in Washington and rode the wave to the semi-finals at Rogers Cup last week, where he ran out of gas against Djokovic.  Very few players enter Rio playing at the level Monfils has achieved in recent weeks.

Nishikori, who was runner-up to Djokovic in Toronto, has a fairly clear path to the quarterfinals with perhaps his toughest test coming from veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber.  The most interesting first round match from this portion of the draw might be Cilic against Grigor Dimitrov.  If the Bulgarian regains some confidence, he could push the world no. 14.  However, a Cilic-Monfils third round match has the potential to be one of the better encounters in the tournament.

Andy Murray looks to be in the driver’s seat in the bottom quarter of the draw.  Although a first round match against Viktor Troicki could be a test if the Brit shows signs of rust having not competed since winning the Wimbledon title several weeks ago.  If Murray advances, he could have a couple advantageous matchups against clay specialist Juan Monaco, and either the unpredictable Fabio Fognini or Benoit Paire.

Meanwhile, David Ferrer is the favorite to meet Murray in the quarterfinal but the veteran Spaniard has struggled recently.  This could open the door for American Steve Johnson to advance to the quarterfinals if Ferrer falters.

On paper, it would appear that Djokovic and Murray are on a path to meet in the gold medal game. However, Murray will likely need to get through either Nishikori, Monfils or Cilic barring upsets.

Meanwhile, Djokovic would most likely need to defeat Tsonga and Nadal to have an opportunity to play for the gold.  If the top-two seeds were to square off for the gold medal, Djokovic holds a decisive 24-10 head-to-head record against Murray.  He has won the last 5 out of 7 meetings and 13 out of the last 15 dating back to 2013.

However, there are certainly opportunities for upsets as those players who are in the draw, are on hand for their nation’s pride which often times elevates level of play, as seen in Davis Cup competition. The tournament begins on Saturday from Rio.