RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Rafael Nadal’s long day of Olympic tennis began shortly after 11 a.m., when he began what would become a victory that put him in the singles quarterfinals.
Then, after a break of less than 2 hours, Nadal went back out on court for a men’s doubles semifinal and won that, too, assuring himself of leaving the Rio de Janeiro Games with at least one medal for Spain.
Still not finished Thursday, the 14-time Grand Slam champion was scheduled to pick up his racket yet again in the evening for a first-round match in mixed doubles.
Nadal, the gold medalist in singles eight years ago, certainly is doing whatever it takes to make up for missing the 2012 London Olympics with a knee injury. And, so far anyway, he is not showing any lingering effects of an injured left wrist that kept him off tour for 2½ months and forced him to withdraw from the French Open before the third round and skip Wimbledon altogether.
“It’s not been an easy season for me,” Nadal said. “Two weeks ago, I really didn’t know if I will have the chance to be here and compete in this Olympic Games, because the practice (time) was almost zero for two months.”