Andy Murray will hope for a second-consecutive Gold Medal, while Juan Martin del Potro attempts to continue his remarkable run when the two face each other in the final round of the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.
Advertisement
The big question now is whether the Argentine will have enough left in the tank on Sunday against British world No. 2 and reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, who spent just one hour and 20 minutes on court in his 6-1, 6-4 semi-final victory Saturday over Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
Flash forward to Friday, when he was flat on his stomach and feeling nothing but joy after winning an Olympic gold for Spain in men’s doubles with Marc Lopez.
It would be a remarkable achievement for Del Potro to have beaten Novak Djokovic, Nadal and Murray to claim a gold medal and few would begrudge Delpo what would be a moment of delight after a nightmare couple of years.
No tennis player has won two Olympic singles golds, let alone two in a row.
Murray served his way to an unexpectedly simple victory, winning arguably the point of the tournament, a 23-shot rally, to set up a third match point. He won gold in singles at the 2008 Games in Beijing.
Nishikori and Nadal will meet for the bronze medal today.
“It was an awesome experience, especially doing it with one of my best friends, with Marc, it’s something unforgettable for me, for both of us”, said Nadal after his doubles triumph. However, I’ve also been backing Murray for months and have been the driver of the bandwagon, and it’s paid off and then some.
That gave Murray his third match point, which he converted with a service victor.
Both players played superbly in the decider, with Nadal breaking back at 5-4 down with some wonderful shots – but it was eventually in vain as the Argentine won the decider 7-5 in the tie-break.
These two have played seven times in the past and Murray has won five of those meetings.
The Rio 2016 tennis competition will wrap up on Sunday, which will see five medal matches across three divisions: Men’s singles, mixed doubles and women’s doubles.
Advertisement
Rafael Nadal, of Spain, returns to Juan Martin del Potro, of Argentina, during their semi-final round match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016.
