Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray will continue their Olympic campaigns when quarterfinal spots are on the line on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro. Nadal’s third-rounder is against Gilles Simon, while Andy Murray is facing Fabio Fognini.
(3) Rafael Nadal vs. (15) Gilles Simon
Nadal and Simon will be squaring off for the ninth time in their careers when they clash in round three of the Rio Olympics on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at a commanding 7-1 in favor of Nadal, who has won five in a row at Simon’s expense since losing to the Frenchman 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) on the indoor hard courts of Madrid in 2008. In their last five matches, Nadal has taken 12 of 13 sets. Simon was competitive in a 7-6(1), 6-7(4), 6-2 setback on the red clay of Rome in 2014, but he got crushed 6-2, 6-4 last season in Indian Wells.
Based on current form, simply making it this far is a decent result for Simon. The world No. 31 is just 21-16 for the year and he had been a mere 2-5 in in his previous seven matches heading into Rio. So far at this event Simon has taken out Borna Coric and Yuichi Sugita in straight sets. Nadal was somewhat of an unknown commodity going into the games, because he had not played since the French Open due to a wrist injury. But like Simon, the Spaniard’s week is off to a flawless start. He has made quick work of Federico Delbonis (6-2, 6-1) and Andreas Seppi (6-3, 6-3) in singles to go along with a trio of doubles victories that already has him–and partner Marc Lopez–in the semifinals. Simon presents an almost identical matchup to what Seppi brought to the table on Tuesday, and Nadal should enjoy a similarly routine day at the office.
Pick: Nadal in 2
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Fabio Fognini vs. (2) Andy Murray
Nobody has ever successfully backed up a singles gold medal by triumphing at the next Olympics, and Serena Williams’ chance went up in smoke on Tuesday. Murray’s bid, however, is alive and well. The 2012 London Games winner is through to the last 16 following straight-set defeats of Viktor Troicki and Juan Monaco. Having recently triumphed at Queen’s Club and for a second time at Wimbledon, Murray is a perfect 14-0 in his last 14 matches.
Up next for the second-ranked Scot on Wednesday is a fifth career contest against Fognini, and the head-to-head series is all tied up at two victories apiece. The Italian has managed to defeat Murray once on a hard court, although that result came nine years ago (6-2, 6-2 at the Rogers Cup). They most recently collided two seasons ago indoors in Valencia, where Murray cruised 6-2, 6-4. Fognini earned another shot at the three-time major champion by beating Victor Estrella Burgos and Benoit Paire–the latter in a third-set tiebreaker on Monday evening. The world No. 40 may not have a ton left in the tank and even if he does, all signs point to a convincing win for Murray.
Pick: Murray in 2
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WWW?
Rafa and Muzz. Both in 2.
Murray in two and Rafa in three
Rafa in 2 sets.
Murray in 2 sets.
Fabio is a difficult opponent for Andy. This will go to 3 sets…the ranking indicates Andy will win….but ranking alone won’t do it. Andy to sneak through.
I think it was VR on another thread who made the interesting observation both Rafa and Andy seem to be prioritising the OGs over the rest of the season. I am inclined to agree. However I have doubts about Rafa/Lopez taking a gold in the doubles. They are good but don’t play together often enough compared with the likes of Popsi and Nestor.
Having said that to date there has been carnage in the doubles so anything is possible.
But ouch. Three matches for Rafa today makes me nervous. Hope he can deal with Simon in 2 but suspect it will more likely be in 3
Tenis Olímpico ITF: “The mixed doubles Nadal/Muguruza vs Hradecka/Stepanek could be postponed to Thursday depending on Rafa’s fatigue (who plays 2 other matches).”
https://twitter.com/tenisolimpico/status/763188756367179776
The wet weather makes it unlikely Rafa will play 3 matches today.
Rafa has 3 matches scheduled today and Simon can make you run. Wasn’t it GG who said greed is good? Impressive will it be if he wins all 3.
Stay focused, remain confident and be brave, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cpf2b6xXEAAtioX.jpg
OCD is everywhere.
Agree with you hawkeye. A certain Real Rafan keeps repeating the same thing over and over again or obsessively posts Fed or Djok pictures on the Rafa thread.
RITB is everywhere.
ITF Olympic Tennis: “Due to the wet conditions play has been delayed until 11:30 AM on Centre Court, 12 noon on the outside courts at Rio 2016.”
AccuWeather.com: “Rio 2016: Rain likely to dampen Olympic events through Wednesday.”
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/rio-2016-olympics-forecast-rain-likely-to-dampen-events-this-week/59294411
ITF Olympic Tennis 7 minutes ago: “There has been a further delay to the start of play and the schedule has changed.”
According to the updated schedule, Rafa’s match is scheduled as the 1st on the Centre Court:
https://www.rio2016.com/en/tennis-schedule-and-results
The Keys match was shown as completed so one of them must have pulled out.
The Keys match has been moved to Court 2.
Oh, bleep! Rafa’s match will be on at the same time as Del Potro’s and Keys’ (an American) which is going to kill USA tv coverage of Rafa’s match.
I don’t know about Rafa but I don’t think I can last through rain-delayed livestream coverage of all his matches today! I should add that I saw tweets about his mixed doubles possibly being postponed until tomorrow “if he’s fatigued”.
Maybe the rain is a blessing in disguise. Rafa playing 3 matches in one day does give me pause.
Rafa was asked in his post-match interview after the win over Seppi, about his decision to participate in all three events during this Olympics.
I thought his answer was revealing. He said that this might be his last Olympics. He said that he doesn’t know for sure, but if it might be his last then he wanted to play in all the events.
Rafa said: “…You never know if it’s the last Olympics for me, HOPEFULLY not…”
See my post AT 1:14 PM above.
They are reporting on the weather situation on the Bravo channel. They said that the rain is expected to continue until 4:00 pm Rio time. That is 3:00 pm eastern time in the states.
ITF Olympic Tennis 1 minute ago: “UPDATE: There will be no play before 2 pm at the Olympic Tennis Event Rio 2016.”
Other games are being played at the Tennis Centre today. 🙂
Conchita Martínez (Rafa’s captain in Rio): “And while we wait…Rafa delights us with parcheesi!!”
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cpgdl6gWAAAH-K7.jpg
any updates?
The last update I heard on the Bravo channel, which is broadcast Olympic tennis, said that the rain should be over by 4:00 pm Rio time.
So it appears that it’s going to be awhile before play resumes.
ITF Olympic Tennis 4 minutes ago: “UPDATE: There will be no play before 3:30 pm local time at the Olympic Tennis Event Rio 2016.”
ITF Olympic Tennis: “The start time for today’s matches has now been pushed back to not before 4 pm local time at the Olympic Tennis Event Rio 2016.”
ITF Olympic Tennis 5 minutes ago: “No matches have been cancelled yet but day session ticket holders are entitled to a full refund at Rio 2016.”
hope Rafa plays his singles
For Real Rafans…
Pau Ferragut @PauFerragut 15m15 minutes ago
#Nadal won’t play today in #Rio2016. All his matches are cancelled. By @AudiCenterPalma
(for @B1PR)
shit
Hawkeye,
Thanks for the update. Disappointing.