Some surprises and hard fought matches, plus Nadal gets another gold.
It was a long day for Rafael Nadal. He started out earlier on Friday in his singles quarterfinal match against Brazilian Thomas Bellucchi. It was weird for Spain’s tennis legend to have the crowd against him, but the Brazilians have made no secret of coming on strong for one of their own.
However, even with the disadvantage, he managed to win his way into the semifinals by beating Bellucchi 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. His state of physical health showed by losing the first set quickly to the Brazilian, but though he may not be in 100 percent top physical condition, he exhibited great mental strength by reclaiming the set and cinching his way to the next round, one more match closer to a possible Olympic medal.
Great Britain’s Andy Murray is in the best shape of his career and is fresh off his Wimbledon win, but even he lost a set as well to USA’s surprise contender Steve Johnson. Murray played at a high level in the first set, but then dropped his game in the second, committing several errors and looking unraveled.
Yet proving the Grand Slam champion that he is, he was able to recover in the third set and won the match with a tie-break, 6-0, 4-6, 7-6(2). Johnson will walk away from this Olympics having competed at a much higher level than anyone expected from him. Johnson’s terrific performance gave the defending gold medalist from London quite a scare. But true to form, Murray rallied to win his chance in the semifinals today, where he faces Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
World No. 7 Nishikori had an even tougher match where he faced off with crowd favorite Gael Monfils of France. Known for his showmanship, he has been plagued by injuries in the past and had to withdraw from tournaments earlier this year. However, when he entered hardcourt season, Monfils captured serious air and won the Citi Open in Washington, DC along with reaching the quarterfinals of the Roger’s Cup in Toronto.
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He came into the Olympics strong and was in contention to win this match, but Nishikori’s mental fortitude kicked in, Not only did he save several match points, he turned the match around to win his way into the semifinals by beating the Frenchman 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(6).
Of the quarterfinals on Friday, Juan Martin del Potro had the easiest match, winning it in straight sets 7-5, 7-6(4). Del Potro couldn’t be a more deserving player, coming into these Games with low expectations. After a difficult two and a half years and three wrist surgeries, the injury-prone Argentine took out the world No.1 Novak Djokovic in a shocking first round performance that was nothing short of phenomenal.
Del Potro is a Bronze medalist from London, where he also defeated Djokovic to get onto the podium. There are no signs of his nagging injuries or shortage of performance, and he looks like he’s playing better tennis than ever. Del Potro, the underdog, is proving to be another medal contender yet again. Nobody saw that coming.
But the other player he’ll be facing across the net is a former gold medalist from Beijing, Rafa. However, between the two, del Potro might just be in better shape when the match rolls around later today.
Originally scheduled for three matches today for singles, mixed doubles, and men’s doubles, Rafael Nadal made the intelligent decision to pull out of the mixed doubles once he found he was playing for gold in doubles in the evening. And what a match it was. Cruising in the first set against Romania’s team of Mergea Florin and Tecau Horia, the heavy physical toll from the morning’s match seemed to catch up with Nadal. Coupled with Florin and Horia upping their performance level lead to a second set loss by the Spanish team of Nadal and his best friend Marc Lopez.
Coming down to a close and nail-biting third set, both teams showed nerves and fast reflexes in lightning quick play that got the crowd inching towards the edge of their seats. It was close until the end, when Nadal showed the resilience that allows him to push through under the worst circumstances. He won the last set by breaking the Romanians’ service game.
The euphoria and exhaustion overwhelmed both Nadal and Lopez when they realized they won, as they both fell to the ground afterwards and dissolved into tears. Nadal is now one of only a very few who holds more than one gold medal in his sport. Two brutal matches in one day will leave Nadal very little recovery time to face the underdog del Potro in tomorrow’s match for a chance to medal at this year’s Games.
“It was an amazing experience to win with my best friend,” said Nadal to NBC afterwards.
Among the few tennis players who have held multiple gold medals is another contender for her fifth Olympic medal, Venus Williams, who along with her mixed doubles partner Rajeev, beat the Italian team of Roberta Vinci and Fabio Fognini in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. They will face off the winners from the other quarterfinals match, Czechia’s Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stapanek, who won their match in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.
In the women’s singles, Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig played the match of her life when she beat Czechia’s Petra Kvitova. It was a shock victory, and Puig now plays for her country’s first gold medal chance in the finals against Germany’s Angelique Kerber.
Fighting for her country’s first Gold Medal will be weighing heavily on Puig. “But the Olympics isn’t about me, it’s about Puerto Rico, and I know how bad they want this,” she said after the match.
America’s tennis hopes were dashed by Madison Keys going out in straight sets to Kerber. Although on paper it looked like an easier victory than it was, Keys put up plenty of fight and made the last set a difficult win for the German. After the game, Kerber talked about her idol Stefi Graf and how much it will mean if she equals her gold medal.
Keys isn’t out of the running yet, she will play Kvitova today for a chance at bronze.