He missed out on a medal at Rio 2016 on Sunday, and things did not get any better for 14-time major champion Rafael Nadal.
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Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal expressed displeasure at the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) officials after losing the bronze medal playoff 6-2 6-7 6-2 to Japan’s Kei Nishikori at the Rio Olympics.
Adding insult to injury, Hoy broke the news that Nadal had been rejected by a Chinese restaurant in Rio.
World No. 7 Nishikori, as he’s been known to do, did it the hard way in becoming the first Japanese tennis medalist since Ichiya Kumagai at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.
In the third set, Nishikori converted on his first break opportunity to go up on Nadal, and was in command from there. “The serve, the backhand – nothing else bothers me”, Nadal said after the loss. I knew that I wasn’t stepping in.
“The truth is, when I hit the forehand, I feel it bothering me a little bit, but without a doubt it’s been a positive week in all aspects”.
Even as Nadal failed to finish on the podium in the singles event, he had managed to bag the gold medal in the men’s doubles event alongside countryman Marc Lopez earlier in the tournament.
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“I was close to beating Novak [Djokovic] in Rome – I was playing at a high level when I had to stop, but when you stop in the middle of the season, it’s always very tough”. “I was playing for my country”.
