Olympic Tennis 2016: Breaking Down Rafael Nadal’s Chances to Win Gold Medal

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s exit at the 2016 Olympics has been the biggest shocker, but No. 5 Rafael Nadal might be the most pleasant surprise. Or maybe, by now, the tennis world should understand that the Spaniard has made a career of impressive comebacks.

While other stars are sidelined for various reasons, Nadal is suddenly a viable gold-medal candidate in men’s singles with victories over Federico Delbonis and Andreas Seppi to get to the final 16.

He’s also won three matches in men’s doubles with partner Marc Lopez to advance to the doubles semifinals.

And he’s teaming up with Garbine Muguruza as the No. 3-seeded team for mixed doubles.

It appears that the “King of Clay” packs his cape and resides near a phone booth when the Olympics are staged. He has the chance to add three gold medals to the men’s singles gold he won in China at the 2008 Olympics. If he succeeds, tennis historians will be checking if Nadal really hails from Mount Olympus and grew up throwing lightning bolts in his rare off time from hitting tennis balls.

Olympian Optimism

In the singles draw, the road has opened like the Red Sea. Nadal demolished his first two opponents, and both results were crucial. The blowouts conserved his energy, boosted his confidence and demonstrated that his wrist is probably healthy. (An injured left wrist caused Nadal to withdraw after the second round of the French Open in May. He had not played a match until the Olympics.)

“Not much pressure for me,” Nadal said to the Associated Press, via Fox News Sports. “Two months without competing, I don’t expect much.”

Besides the growing mystique of Nadal in the Olympics, this is Brazil, where he began winning titles in his epic 2013 comeback as the the No. 1 player.

Still not convinced? These Brazilian hard courts play slow with …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com