Rafael Nadal of Spain vs Facundo Bagnis of Argentina.
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Rafael Nadal during the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros.
Speaking to reporters in Rio, Nadal admitted he was still not at his best but insisted he will train for the next few days in order to improve his fitness.
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.
Having not competed in two months, Nadal finds himself ranked fifth in the world, recently falling from No.4 and swapping places with Stan Wawrinka.
Nadal won the gold medal in men’s singles eight years ago at the 2008 Beijing Games.
The 30-year-old Spaniard has been out of action for a few months with a wrist injury and pulled out of Wimbledon in order to focus on being fit for the Games, which begin this Friday. “I have not competed for two months and I have not trained a lot”, said Nadal. He withdrew from the 2012 London Olympics because of knee tendinitis, claiming he wasn’t in condition to compete and it would have been “selfish” of him to do so.
The 30-year-old, who is expected to be Spain’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony on Friday, will compete in the singles and also the mixed doubles with French Open victor Garbine Muguruza.
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Roger Federer has called time on his season to rest a knee injury. Milos Raonic and doubles duo the Bryan brothers will also be absent in Rio due to fears over the Zika virus.
