Rafael Nadal confirmed that he will play singles at the Olympics in Rio which begin on Saturday.
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The Spaniard has been struggling with a wrist injury that compelled his withdrawal from Roland Garros, and is yet to play a match ever since.
The 14-time Grand Slam title victor, who practiced for the first time in Rio on Monday, is scheduled to play singles, doubles with Marc Lopez and mixed with French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.
He added: “I have not competed for two months and I have not trained a lot”.
“The team and I decided that I am going to play”, said Nadal. “It’s something for every sportsman to be proud of, and of course, especially for me after not being in London”, Nadal said on Friday. That’s good news. We’re here and these are the options.
Nadal, who beat Chilean Fernando Gonzalez to win men’s singles gold at the Beijing Games in 2008, withdrew from the French Open and also missed Wimbledon because of the injury.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion incited the crowd with a “Vamos!” following a backhand blast down the line.
Perhaps, armed with the fact he has already won Olympic gold, and unencumbered by the pressure of defending ranking points (Olympic tennis will yield none this year), Nadal could launch a better-than-expected run on the hard courts of Rio.
Four years ago, Spain’s basketball star Pau Gasol replaced Nadal at the opening ceremony and the man from Mallorca does not want to relinquish the honour for a second time.
“It’s evident that the condition of my wrist is not ideal and if it wasn’t the Olympics, I would not take this risk”.
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“It’s obvious that he is lacking playing time but when we talk about Nadal, we know how competitive he is and what a great level he has”.
