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Naomi Osaka headlined the stars in action as the second round of the women's singles tournament got underway at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Top-seeded Ash Barty already crashed out in the first round, with No. 11 Jennifer Brady and No. 12 Elise Mertens also coming up short in their opening matches.
Osaka, Garbine Muguruza and Aryna Sabalenka couldn't afford to take their opponents lightly Monday.
Women's Singles Results: July 26
No. 2 Naomi Osaka def. Viktorija Golubic 6-3, 6-2
No. 7 Garbine Muguruza def. Wang Qiang 6-3, 6-0
No. 8 Barbora Krejcikova def. Leylah Annie Fernandez 6-2, 6-4
No. 13 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-1, 6-1
No. 14 Maria Sakkari def. Nina Stojanovic 6-1, 6-2
No. 15 Elena Rybakina def. Rebecca Peterson 6-2, 6-3
Camila Giorgi def. Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-1
Belinda Bencic def. Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-4
Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Fiona Ferro 6-1, 6-4
Nadia Podoroska def. Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 6-3
Marketa Vondrousova def. Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1, 6-2
Donna Vekic def. Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3)
Alison Van Uytvanck def. Petra Kvitova 5-7, 6-3, 6-0
Elina Svitolina def. Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Monday Recap
Osaka wasn't at her best but didn't encounter much trouble putting away Viktorija Golubic.
The two exchanged serves for the first seven games of the opening set before Osaka earned a critical break to go up 5-3. The The four-time Grand Slam champion then broke Golubic twice early in the second frame to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
The Japan native dropped eight points on serve over the course of the match. She collected three aces and 22 groundstroke winners.
Having withdrawn from the French Open and Wimbledon, the 23-year-old isn't lacking for sharpness in Tokyo.
Muguruza and 14th-seeded Maria Sakkari were similarly dominant in their outings.
Wang Qiang provided some resistance for Muguruza in the first set and battled back to within a game of the Spaniard at 3-4. But she dropped serve in the next game, which began a streak of eight straight games for Muguruza.
Wang committed eight unforced errors and won eight points over the second set as she fell apart.
Likewise, Nina Stojanovic was her own worst enemy against Sakkari. Committing 30 unforced errors and five double-faults in two sets won't get it done against an opponent as good as the 26-year-old Greek.
Sakkari took a 4-1 lead in the first set thanks to a break in the fourth game. The two needed 15 points to determine the sixth game, which ended in another break of serve as Sakkari took firm control.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova made quick work of Anna-Lena Friedsam, sending the German packing in 54 minutes.
Friedsam only had five unforced errors but was simply overpowered by the 30-year-old Russian. Pavlyuchenkova had nine forehand winners and two on her backhand. She also collected three aces and won 21 of her 26 first-serve points.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic's straight-set victory over Hugo Dellien highlighted the first round of men's singles tennis action at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Day 1 featured 16 matches. Other notable winners included World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, who earned a second-set tiebreaker victory en route to defeating Alexander Bublik.
Elsewhere, Sumit Nagal made history as the first Indian man to win an Olympics men's singles match in 25 years, while Marin Cilic won a three-set thriller over Joao Menezes after finally pulling through following his 11th match point.
Here's a look at the day's round of 64 results alongside closer looks at all four of those performances.
Round of 64 Results
Daniil Medvedev (Russian Olympic Committee) def. Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan): 6-4, 7-6 (8)
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) def. Hugo Dellien (Bolivia): 6-2, 6-2
Lorenzo Sonego (Italy) def. Taro Daniel (Japan): 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3)
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain) def. Pedro Sousa (Portugal): 6-3, 6-0
Aslan Karatsev (Russian Olympic Committee) def. Tommy Paul (United States): 6-3, 6-2
Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) def. Tennys Sandgren (United States): 7-5, 6-2
Fabio Fognini (Italy) def. Yuichi Sugita (Japan): 6-4, 6-3
Marin Cilic (Croatia) def. Joao Menezes (Brazil): 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (7)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (Georgia) def. Roberto Carballes Baena (Spain): 6-3, 6-2
Ugo Humbert (France) def. Pablo Andujar (Spain): 7-6 (3), 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany) def. Thiago Montero (Brazil): 6-3, 6-4
Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia) def. Kamil Majchrzak (Poland): 6-4, 6-2
Jeremy Chardy (France) def. Tomas Barrios (Chile): 6-1, 7-6 (4)
Egor Gerasimov (Belarus) def. Gilles Simon (France): 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
John Millman (Australia) def. Lorenzo Musetti (Italy): 6-3, 6-4
Sumit Nagal (India) def. Denis Istomin (Uzbekistan): 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4
All tennis results can be found on the Olympics website.
Highlights
Djokovic didn't have much trouble in his first-round match en route to the 6-2, 6-2 win over Dellien, who relished the moment against the 20-time major winner and potential Golden Slam victor:
Djokovic needed just one hour and one minute to advance to the Round of 32, where he will face Jan-Lennard Struff.
The Serbian is aiming to become just the second person in tennis history to win all four Grand Slam events plus an Olympic gold medal in the same year. Steffi Graf accomplished the feat in 1988.
Medvedev worked much harder for his Round 1 victory, needing a second-set tiebreaker to earn the straight-set win. But he'll be moving on after the 6-4, 7-6 (8) victory over Alexander Bublik.
This was not an easy win, as Jose Morgado of the Diario Record noted:
Medvedev won the first set 6-4, winning a break point in the first game and cruising from there. Bublik fired back in the second set, winning an early break point and taking a 3-0 game edge.
Undeterred, Medvedev fought back and eventually forced a tiebreaker after his ace tied the second set at six games apiece. The tiebreaker was a seesaw affair, which the Russian won 10-8.
Medvedev now faces Sumit Nagal, who made some history on Saturday.
It had been 25 years since an Indian man won an Olympics men's singles match at the Olympics, but that cold spell has been broken after Nagal's three-set win over Denis Istomin:
Nagal won the first set 6-4 and served for the match up 5-4 in the second set, but a pair of double faults led to Istomin winning the break. Istomin ended up forcing a tiebreaker, which he won 8-6.
Nagal dug deep late in the third set, though. Istomin had triple game point serving with the score tied at four, but Nagal earned five straight points for the huge break. He then won four of five points in the final game for the win.
The last Indian man to win was Leander Paes, who engineered a phenomenal run into the semifinals as a wild card at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He lost to eventual gold medalist Andre Agassi in the semifinals but defeated Fernando Meligeni in the bronze-medal match.
Paes and Nagal are the only two Indian men to reach the second round of the Olympic men's singles tournament.
The match of the day occurred between Cilic and Menezes.
Cilic appeared as if he would cruise into the second round after he found himself up 5-0 in the third set. A win appeared to be even more of a formality when Menezes fell behind 40-0 while serving.
However, Menezes somehow survived five match points to stay alive and win the game. He proceeded to win six straight games, taking a 6-5 lead to earn an opportunity to serve for the match.
He earned his own match point up 40-30, but Cilic bounced back with three straight points to earn the tiebreaker.
Once there, Cilic earned the 9-7 win, getting the victory on his 11th match point.
He'll take on Pablo Carreno Busta in Round 2.
Naomi Osaka, arguably the best women's tennis player in the world, was all set to represent Japan when the 2020 Olympics kicked off in Tokyo this summer. Now she's among those praising the decision to postpone the Games until next year.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to challenge the sports world in unprecedented ways, Osaka published an Instagram post detailing her feelings on recent events.
"I've been thinking about how to articulate my thoughts on this for a couple of days now, so here goes," Osaka wrote. "Everyone knows how much the Olympics means to me and how proud I will be to participate in my home country. Of course I am disappointed that it won't happen this year, but we'll all be ready to go stronger than ever in 2021."
Osaka, who was raised in New York by a Japanese mother and Haitian father, decided to give up her American citizenship to represent Japan in 2020.
Now that's on pause, but it hasn't made the tennis champ any less proud of the decisions that brought her to this point.
"I support Prime Minister Abe's brave decision and the IOC 100%."Osaka continued. "Sport will eventually unite us again and be there for us always, but that time is not now. This is the time for people from all countries, background and races to rally together to save as many lives as we can. To me, that is the Olympic spirit. To the people of Japan: stay strong, hang in there and let's show the world our beautiful country when the time is right in 2021. Stay safe everyone, take care of each other, be kind and we will make it through."
The 22-year-old star is currently ranked No. 10 in the world with a career record of 222-132 to go with wins at both the US Open (2018) and Australian Open (2019).
The final day of tennis at the 2016 Olympics will see Andy Murray attempt to defend his crown from 2012 against Juan Martin del Potro to determine who will walk away from Rio de Janeiro with a gold medal.
Murray had little trouble defeating Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-4 in the first semifinal match Saturday. It was an excellent return to form for the two-time Wimbledon champion after he needed three sets in his previous two matches (including a tiebreaker against Steve Johnson) to reach this point.
Del Potro engaged in an epic battle with Rafael Nadal that went more than three hours and required a third-set tiebreaker before he was able to put away the Spanish star 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) and secure his first shot at an Olympic gold medal four years after winning a bronze.
| Date | Matchup | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, August 14 | Andy Murray vs. Juan Martin Del Potro | Approx. 3 p.m. | Bravo | NBCOlympics.com |
In terms of having an edge in stamina, Murray should be fresher than Del Potro on Sunday.
Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated broke down how substantial the time difference was between Murray's win over Nishikori compared to where the other semifinal between Nadal and Del Potro was at:
Murray noted the emotional pressure he's been under has been overwhelming of late (via NBC Olympics):
This has been the best year of his career, even surpassing 2012, when he won the gold medal and U.S. Open, and 2013, when he captured his first Wimbledon title. The consistent level of play from event to event makes this his best season as a professional.
The last tournament Murray entered in which he didn't at least make the final was the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April when he lost a semifinal to Nadal.
The ease with which he dispatched Nishikori—who was seeded fourth in the Olympics and is the seventh-ranked player in the ATP rankings—was alarming. He took 28 of 42 points in the first set and broke Nishikori's serve twice.
Murray and Del Potro do have some history together, having met seven times previously. Murray holds a 5-2 advantage in the series, though they haven't squared off since 2013.
Del Potro's career took several unexpected turns, particularly last year, when he was in the hospital after multiple wrist problems.
David Law of BBC Sport tweeted out the image Del Potro posted from last year after his victory Saturday:
At this point, Del Potro is playing with house money. He wasn't supposed to be around long this week since his first match was against top-ranked Novak Djokovic, but he pulled off the upset and hasn't looked back since.
A victory over Murray to secure gold would be the perfect capper to Del Potro's storybook run so far, but he's entering a different world Sunday.
As great as Nadal is, he was in his first tournament since the French Open because of injuries. Murray is at the top of his game, beating anyone and anything that stands in his way. There's no shame in taking home a silver medal from the Olympics.
Prediction: Murray wins three sets to one.
The miracle run of Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro continued Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, as he defeated Spain's Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in an instant classic to earn an opportunity to play for the gold medal in men's singles at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Del Potro, who's battled consistent injury problems in recent years, became an afterthought after drawing Novak Djokovic in the first round. He started picking up steam after upsetting the top seed, however, and now he'll face Great Britain's Andy Murray, the reigning champion, for the coveted title.
Meanwhile, Nadal will play Japan's Kei Nishikori for the bronze medal as his marathon week of tennis continues for one more day.
The fact Nadal even reached the semifinals is a testament to his amazing internal competitiveness. He didn't advance beyond the third round of either of the season's first two majors and then missed Wimbledon as part of an absence that lasted more than two months leading up to the Games.
Christopher Clarey of the New York Times passed along comments from the 30-year-old Spaniard about the high level of success Friday night after he claimed men's doubles gold with Marc Lopez.
"Of course I did not want to miss the chance a second time to carry the flag," Nadal said. "But I didn't want to come and carry the flag and not compete. I wanted to come and take part if only in doubles, and then I decided to play singles, too, at the last minute. And things have gone really, really well."
The 14-time major champion dropped his first service game in lackluster fashion, and the immediate thought was that the heavy schedule might finally be getting to him. But, in typical fashion, he fought his way back into the opening set.
Nadal broke back in the sixth game, and just as the set looked destined for a tiebreak, he came through with a couple of clutch points to break Del Potro again in the final game to grab control of the match.
Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated joked about the amount of time the Spanish fan favorite has spent on the court this week:
Del Potro once again secured an early break in the second. This time around, he did a much better job of holding on to that advantage. He prevented Nadal, who started to show some signs of frustration, from even getting a look at a break point.
The biggest key in the set was the Argentine's success on his second serve. He only got 50 percent of his first-serve attempts in, but he won all 12 points on his second serve, which allowed him to stay out of trouble and get back level in the match.
David Law of BT Sport used a wrestling reference to describe the fight from Delpo:
The level of play and intensity in the third set was nothing short of extraordinary.
Every time it seemed like one player was starting to take charge of the points, the other one would fight back. There was no better example than when Del Potro broke late in the set to give himself a chance to serve for the match, only for Nadal to break right back.
There was one final look at a break for the Argentine as he raced to a 0-40 lead in Nadal's final service game, but he couldn't come up with the shot he needed to finish off the game. The Spaniard surged back to save his serve, and after a routine Del Potro hold, the match went to a deciding tiebreak.
In the end, Del Potro came up in the clutch with a couple of vintage laser forehands and rocket serves to win the breaker 7-5 and punch his ticket to play for the gold medal.
Ed McGrogan of Tennis Magazine commented on the match between two players who have been held back by the injury bug at a time when they could have made a strong era of tennis even better:
Looking ahead, Del Potro faces an uphill battle in the championship match against Murray. Not only does the Scot hold a 5-2 edge in their previous meetings, but he should also be the fresher player after a quick semifinal win.
As Howard Bryant of ESPN The Magazine tweeted, Del Potro isn't sure if he'll be ready for the matchup:
Even so, it's impossible to count out the Argentine after the week he's enjoyed.
Nadal holds a commanding 9-1 advantage over Nishikori, including a pair of straight-set victories in their two meetings in 2016. That said, the third-place matches are often more about which player is better able to recover mentally from the semifinal disappointment.
Afterward, BBC Sport passed along comments from Del Potro, who admitted even he didn't believe this type of run was possible.
"It means a lot to me. It's very big, maybe even more special than when I won the U.S. Open," the Argentine said. "I didn't expect to get to the final; I didn't expect to beat Djokovic. It's just amazing for me."
He added: "I am living a dream, and the crowd make me cry after every match."
All match statistics courtesy of the Olympics' official site.
Andy Murray's pursuit of his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in men's singles tennis continued Thursday, as he survived a tough battle with Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in the round of 16.
With the win, Murray moves on to face American Steve Johnson in what could be a difficult quarterfinal match due to Johnson's excellent form thus far in Rio de Janeiro.
Despite Murray's struggles at times Thursday, he likely remains the player to beat since he is coming off the second Wimbledon title of his career.
While Murray entered the round of 16 as an overwhelming favorite, BBC's Russell Fuller pointed out that Thursday's match was a tricky one due to Fognini's past success against the three-time Grand Slam champion in international play:
That fact didn't seem to impact Murray's psyche in the early going, as he came flying out of the gates and won the first five games of the match to put the Italian on the ropes early.
Fuller observed that Fognini didn't appear engaged after enduring an all-out attack from Murray in the match's opening stages:
Murray had a chance to saddle Fognini with a first-set bagel, but the underdog managed to avoid that by holding serve for the first time in the match.
It took less than a half hour for the Brit to take a 1-0 lead in sets; however, Live Tennis suggested that Fognini may have gotten himself a little momentum by finally winning a game:
#Murray grabs the 1st set 6-1 in 29 minutes. Vague signs of life from a generally woeful #Fognini towards the end. pic.twitter.com/N8B2aL7xf6
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) August 11, 2016
Although the opening set was largely a nightmare for Fognini, there may have been something to the theory that getting on the board energized him.
Murray went up a break early in the second set and had a chance to take a 3-1 lead on serve, but Fognini earned his first break of the match and then proceeded to go on an impressive run that included a hold and then a second break of Murray to seize a 4-2 advantage.
Fognini's sudden surge took many by surprise, including Dan King of the Sun:
Murray quickly went up 30-0 during Fognini's next service game and had a golden opportunity to move toward leveling the set back up, but the Italian dug deep for the hold and moved to within one game of forcing a decisive third set.
Fognini somewhat shockingly followed that up with another break of Murray's serve to win the set 6-2 and put the top remaining seed in the tournament in a tough spot.
As seen in this photo, courtesy of British Tennis, Murray was visibly frustrated at the reality of being pushed to a third set:
Fognini held serve to open the third set, which was followed by a marathon second game with Murray on serve.
The Italian earned three break points due in large part to some nifty drop shots, and he finally cashed in to take a 2-0 lead in the final set.
Matt Zemek of FanRag Sports was among those who applauded Fognini's ability to turn things around when he seemed down and out:
According to BBC's David Law, Fognini's penchant for bouncing back against Murray was nothing new:
Fognini went up 3-0 before Murray finally held serve to get on the board in the third. The Italian had an opportunity to erase that with a hold of his own, but the momentum started to shift when the Brit broke back.
Per Rahul Vaidyanath of the Epoch Times, Fognini's volatility began to work against him as he began to make some costly mistakes:
With Murray back on serve a 2-3, he held comfortably to even the decisive set back up and once again put himself in position to potentially advance to the quarters.
Thursday's match was defined by huge runs and swings of momentum, and the positive vibes were back in Murray's favor after he reeled off three straight games.
The Brit used that to his advantage to break Fognini and take a 4-3 lead, which he had an opportunity to extend on serve.
Murray did precisely that, and Law noted there was a 180-degree turn in Fognini's attitude and demeanor:
With Fognini down and out, Murray sealed the deal with another break and narrowly escaped his biggest scare of the tournament.
Murray will enter his quarterfinal match against Johnson as the favorite despite his issues against Fognini, but he looks vulnerable.
Although his level of competition hasn't been particularly high, Johnson has arguably been the most impressive player in the men's singles draw in Rio thus far, and he promises to be fresher than Murray after the Brit was pushed to three sets.
The 2016 Summer Olympics have been riddled with upsets of top players such as Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams thus far, but Murray's fight and determination prevented him from joining that group Thursday and kept his hopes of being the first repeat gold medalist in Olympic men's singles tennis alive.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
Rain, rain, go away. With plenty of precipitation Wednesday, the Thursday tennis schedule at the 2016 Rio Games was jam-packed, with the entire men's round of 16 to be played.
Below, we'll break down the men's singles tournament and the reaction from a busy day of tennis.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| (12) Steve Johnson | 6 | 6 | |
| Evgeny Donskoy | 1 | 1 |
American Steve Johnson cruised to a third-round victory against the overmatched Evgeny Donskoy on Thursday, 6-1, 6-1. Johnson ripped five aces and won 75 percent of his first-serve points, compared to Donskoy winning just 39 percent of his own first-serve points.
Johnson and Madison Keys are the only Americans remaining in the singles competitions for the men and women, putting the United States' hopes of medaling squarely on their shoulders. The favorite among the Americans to medal in the singles competition, Serena Williams, was eliminated in shocking fashion, along with her sister, Venus.
Johnson's road to a medal about to get much more difficult, however, as he'll face Andy Murray in the quarterfinals.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| (10) Roberto Bautista Agut | 6 | 7 | |
| Gilles Muller | 4 | 6 (4) |
Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut moved onto the quarterfinals, battling past Gilles Muller in a competitive match, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Bautista Agut used a strong first serve to guide his victory, winning an impressive 89 percent of his first-serve points. He was also efficient in the match, converting two of his three break points.
He'll face Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (3) Rafael Nadal | 7 | 6 | ||
| (15) Gilles Simon | 6 (5) | 3 |
Rafael Nadal is off to the quarterfinals, beating Gilles Simon 7-6 (5), 6-3 and keeping his quest for his second gold medal in Olympics singles play alive (he took home the gold in 2008).
Nadal won 72 percent of his first-serve points and ripped 21 winners, though his 40 unforced errors were a bit concerning. He was solid at the net, however, winning 13 points up close, and ultimately he was too much for the tough Simon to handle.
Nadal has been nothing short of remarkable in the Rio Games, as Carl Bialik of FiveThirtyEight noted:
In a tournament that has already seen the top two seeds in singles play eliminated, Williams and Novak Djokovic, Nadal's quest for an epic trio of medals is now one of tennis' main storylines.
Winning a gold medal in doubles alongside Marc Lopez might be an even more remarkable feat than returning from injury to win the singles tournament, based off of this tidbit from Arash Madani of Sportsnet:
They'll face Canada's Vasek Pospisil and Daniel Nestor on Thursday in the men's doubles semifinals, while Nadal will face Thomaz Bellucci in the quarterfinals match.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Martin del Potro | 6 (4) | 6 | 6 |
| Taro Daniel | 7 | 1 | 2 |
Del Potro dropped his first set in a tiebreaker to Taro Daniel, but he quickly recovered to cruise through the next two sets and advance to the quarterfinals.
Del Potro used his power to ultimately overwhelm Daniel 6 (4)-7, 6-1, 6-2, ripping 15 aces and 42 winners while winning 82 percent of his first-service points. He created nine break points, winning five, though he did have 37 unforced errors (to 32 for Daniel).
He'll face Bautista Agut in the quarters.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| (6) Gael Monfils | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| (9) Marin Cilic | 7 | 3 | 4 |
Gael Monfils battled back after losing the first set to Marin Cilic, earning himself a spot in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Monfils used a solid serve—he won 73 percent of his first-serve points—and benefitted from a sloppy afternoon from Cilic, who will be disappointed with his 53 unforced errors.
Monfils will face Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| (4) Kei Nishikori | 6 | 6 | |
| Andrej Martin | 3 | 4 |
Nishikori advanced to the quarters on Thursday, easily dispatching of Andrej Martin in straight sets. His net game (seven net points) and 17 winners were the difference.
His path to a medal will get much more difficult in the quarterfinals, however, where the talented Monfils awaits
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| (2) Andy Murray | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| Fabio Fognini | 1 | 6 | 3 |
Murray moved on to the quarterfinals and a bout with Johnson, surviving a poor second set to beat Fabio Fognini in three sets.
Murray won 71 percent of his first-serve points and benefitted from 48 unforced errors off the racket of Fognini. Fognini showed more power, holding a 21-14 advantage in winners, but the always steady Murray was too strong.
“It wasn’t a great match, it wasn’t pretty, but I got through," Murray told Jim White of the Telegraph. "And that’s all that matters."
As has been the case throughout the tournament, the conditions played a factor.
“It was really difficult,” Murray said. “The sun was casting really harsh shadows, and the wind kept changing direction.”
But Murray handled them. And he handled Fognini, too.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| (8) David Goffin | 6 | 4 | |
| Thomaz Bellucci | 7 | 6 |
Bellucci earned the right to face the dangerous Nadal in the quarterfinals, beating David Goffin in straight sets.
Bellucci survived a first-set tiebreaker and relied on a steady serve to get past Goffin. The two were fairly even, but Bellucci ability to win 71 percent of his first-serve points was the difference.
All stats via NBCOlympics.com. You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.
Rafael Nadal of Spain advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2016 Summer Olympics with a hard-fought 7-6, 6-3 victory over France's Gilles Simon on Thursday.
The singles triumph marked the start of a busy day for the 30-year-old veteran. He's also scheduled to play the men's doubles semifinals with Marc Lopez and the mixed doubles first round with Garbine Muguruza later in the day. So getting off the court quickly was imperative.
Nadal admitted earlier in the week that he's still not fully recovered from the injury that forced him to miss the Wimbledon Championships. Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press noted the Spanish superstar is only playing due to the importance of the Olympics after missing the London Games.
"My wrist is not perfect. My wrist needs more time," Nadal said Sunday. "If it was a 'normal' tournament on the circuit, I wouldn't be here. My wrist is not perfect. It isn't 100 percent."
The first set was the definition of a grind. There were four breaks of serve, a handful of long games and numerous extended rallies between two players capable of playing high-end defense. The four breaks came in a five-game stretch in the middle of the set when they were battling for the advantage.
Of course, given the players' style and the gritty court surface, that didn't come as much of a surprise, as Rene Denfeld of the Tennis Island noted:
When the dust settled, the opening set ended up in a tiebreak. Nadal came up with some clutch shots to race out to a 5-2 lead and held on for a 7-5 win to take control of the match.
Steve Tignor of Tennis Magazine noted it wasn't the cleanest breaker, though:
The second set was a little more routine for Nadal, at least from a scoreline perspective. Simon continued to fight hard and forced the Spaniard to elevate his game, and the 2008 gold medalist responded by playing his best tennis of the event so far.
Nadal cruised out to a 4-0 lead with a pair of breaks. The Frenchman got himself back into the set by winning three of the next four games, but it wasn't enough. The No. 3 seed closed out the match with his fifth break to punch his ticket to the next round.
The biggest difference in the second set was cutting down on his unforced errors. The numbers are always a little higher in defensive-minded matches with long rallies, but he registered just 12 in the second after an unsightly 28 in the first.
Wyre Davies of BBC News commented on Nadal after the win:
Looking ahead, Nadal is in a difficult spot after Wednesday's rain out further compressed an already tight schedule. He wants to make a serious bid to win three medals, which is possible based on his progression in singles and men's doubles along with his high-ranked mixed doubles partner. But he's stretching himself thin in terms of trying to rest after being sidelined for awhile due to injury.
His chances of winning singles gold would improve with an early exit in the mixed event, but the fierce competitor in him likely won't let that happen. He'll just take each match as it comes and hope his body responds. Next up in singles will be either David Goffin or Thomaz Bellucci in the quarters.
All match statistics courtesy of the Olympics' official site.
After rain washed out play Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, the top women's tennis players in the world returned to the court Thursday for quarterfinal action at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Although big names like Serena Williams and Garbine Muguruza were ousted in singles play prior to the quarters, a number of stars battled it out for the opportunity to play for a medal.
With the medal rounds drawing near, here is a rundown of the women's singles and doubles results from Brazil on Thursday, as well as a recap of some of the biggest matches and moments on the Olympic stage.
| Winning Player | Losing Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Madison Keys (USA) | Daria Kasatkina (RUS) | 6-3, 6-1 |
| Petra Kvitova (CZE) | Elina Svitolina (UKR) | 6-2, 6-0 |
| Monica Puig (PUR) | Laura Siegemund (GER) | 6-1, 6-1 |
| Angelique Kerber (GER) | Johanna Konta (GBR) | 6-1, 6-2 |
| Winning Team | Losing Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Timea Bacsinszky/Martina Hingis (SUI) | Hao-Ching Chan/Yung-Jan Chan (TPE) | 6-3, 6-0 |
| Lucie Safarova/Barbora Strycova (CZE) | Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci (ITA) | 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 |
| Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina (RUS) | Garbine Muguruza/Carl Suarez Navarro (ESP) | 6-3, 6-4 |
| Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka (CZE) | Daria Kasatkina/Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) | 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 |
The American women lost perhaps their best medal hope when Williams was shockingly ousted by Elina Svitolina, but Madison Keys proved Thursday that not all hope is lost.
The 21-year-old pummeled Daria Kasatkina of Russia, 6-3, 6-1, and ensured that she will play for a medal regardless of what happens in her semifinal match.
As pointed out by Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated, Keys wasted little time in dispatching her overmatched opponent in the quarters:
In fact, Keys was on the court for less than an hour, which should keep her fresh for what promises to be the biggest match of her young career in the semis.
Keys enters the Olympic semis with just one career Grand Slam semifinal appearance to her credit, but as noted by Tumaini Carayol of Eurosport, her results in big tournaments have been impressive of late:
Keys has looked like the heir apparent to Williams as the next top American star over the past couple of years, and earning a medal in Rio would be a huge step toward assuming the throne.
With the U.S. Open on the horizon, Keys figures to have a ton of momentum on her side no matter how her Olympics finish.
In contrast to Keys, 2016 has been a difficult year for two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The powerful Czech has found her form in Rio, though, and wasted little time in steamrolling the Ukraine's Svitolina.
Kvitova needed just 48 minutes to advance to the semis, and Simon Cambers of the Guardian can envision her going all the way:
While Svitolina shocked by eliminating Serena in the previous round, that fact didn't seem to faze Kvitova at all, as she thoroughly outclassed her opponent.
Kvitova may now be the favorite due to her current form and how well her power plays on hard courts, but she'll have to get past the tournament's top Cinderella player in order to compete for a gold medal.
Puerto Rico's Monica Puig punched her ticket to the semifinals by dominating Germany's Laura Siegemund, 6-1, 6-1, in a match that took just over an hour to complete.
Puig is very much an underdog, in that she is ranked No. 34 in the world, but she hasn't played like one, as evidenced by her form over the past couple of matches, according to WTA Insider:
The 22-year-old has arguably been more impressive than anyone in the women's singles draw, and there is reason to believe she can keep the upset train going against Kvitova.
No matter how she fares, though, Puig will surprisingly have a chance to play for a medal in Brazil.
The day of dominant victories in women's singles tennis continued with the final match of the day, as Germany's Angelique Kerber raced past Johanna Konta of Great Britain in just over an hour.
Kerber is the top seed remaining in the tournament. As pointed out by Chris Oddo of TennisNow.com, her win over Konta was the latest in a long string of successes in 2016:
The German star won the Australian Open for her first career Grand Slam title and also reached the final at Wimbledon.
She is now in a great position to potentially earn her first Olympic medal, but she must get past a huge test in the form of Keys in order to play for gold.
Kerber is 4-1 all-time against Keys, though, including a 3-0 mark on hard courts.
Keys is arguably playing her best tennis ever right now, but Kerber may be as well, which should make for an entertaining and tightly played semifinal.
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