Nadal, Del Potro advance to Rio Olympics quarterfinals

Rafael Nadal is one win away from playing for another Olympic medal after he beat Gilles Simon 7-6(5), 6-3 during third-round action in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday afternoon. Nadal is now one round shy of the semifinals, at which point he would have two shots at winning at least one match to earn a spot on the podium.

“The passion for what I am doing,” Nadal responded when asked how he is still in such strong form eight years after capturing gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “The passion for the sport; the motivation to keep doing the things that I like. I love to compete in all of tennis.”

Nadal is competing in absolutely everything on Thursday, as he also has men’s doubles and mixed doubles on his plate.

The former world No. 1’s first of three matches got off to a topsy-turvy start, with Simon leading by a service break at 2-1, Nadal storming ahead 4-2, and the Simon pulling even at 4-4. A tiebreaker eventually had to decide the opener, and Nadal took it thanks in part to a crucial mini-break at 5-5 when Simon sent a backhand just past the baseline.

Although the second set was more straightforward, the Spaniard did run into some trouble. He failed to serve out the match at 5-2 but bounced right with a break to punch his ticket to the quarters.

“Always to win a first set like this gives you confidence,” Nadal commented. “I started strong in the second, and that was the difference. Gilles is a very tricky player. Sometimes you don’t know whether tohit strong or with less power. It’s important to change the rhythm.”

It was especially important for him to seal the deal in straight sets, because he will team up with Marc Lopez later in the afternoon before capping off the day by partnering Garbine Muguruza on Day 1 of mixed action.

“Nobody avoids fatigue,” Nadal said. “For sure everybody is tired. For me personally, it probably helped me a little bit. I am fine. The next match for me (doubles semifinals) is so important because it’s a possibility for a medal with one of my best friends.”

Juan Martin Del Potro’s run also continued into the quarterfinals, when he battled past Taro Daniel 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-2. Del Potro dropped the first set after having been up a break, but he thoroughly overpowered the Japanese wild card the rest of the way.

The 27-year-old Argentine is making an emotional trek through the Rio Olympics as he returns from yet another wrist surgery, and to say this is improbable would be an understatement given that he had to face world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the opening round. Del Potro pulled off a 7-6(4), 7-6(2) stunner of Djokovic before outlasting Joao Sousa in three sets about 15 hours later.

Next up for Nadal is hometown hopeful Thomaz Bellucci, who upset David Goffin 7-6(10), 6-4 on Thursday. Del Potro, meanwhile, is scheduled to go up against Roberto Bautista Agut. The Spaniard got the best of Luxembourgian flag-bearer Gilles Muller 6-4, 7-6(4).

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