Rio de Janeiro (dpa) – Spanish player Rafael Nadal won gold with Marc Lopez in the men’s doubles tournament at the Summer Games on Friday, but he had to claw his way into the tennis singles semi-finals. Nadal also won the gold medal in men’s singles at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The field is now down to four, and Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro have one goal in mind – to win the gold medal in Brazil. He only managed to overpower USA player Steve Johnson in the tiebreak of the third set with a 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2) win.
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“It was an fantastic experience to win with my best friend”, said Nadal after victory was secured courtesy of a wild Tecau smash, sparking an emotional celebration between the two Spaniards. We’ve been dreaming about this moment, to be here and play in the Olympic Games together since we were kids.
The victor between Nadal and Del Potro will have a chance to face either world No. 2 Andy Murray or Kei Nishikori who battles each other in the other half of the semifinal stage.
The tight match came right down to the wire with the Romania breaking the 34-year-old Lopez to take a 4-3 lead in the final set.
“Being at the semifinals is something that a few days ago I wouldn’t even imagine”, said Nadal, who had arrived in Rio with a wrist problem.
“It’s awesome. I’ve said it all week and I’ll say it again, it’s been an awesome time playing with Stevie, playing with a really good buddy”.
Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau had to settle with the silver medal, which is also a great performance, as this is the first Olympic medal for Romanian tennis ever.
She beat two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in a rollercoaster match which featured 10 breaks of serve.
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The Swiss duo Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to set up a final clash with Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina on Sunday.
