SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER!
 
 
Facebook Social Button Twitter Social Button Follow Us on InstagramYouTube Social Button
NewsScoresRankingsLucky Letcord PodcastShopPro GearPickleballGear Sale


By Chris Oddo | Friday August 12, 2016

 
Nadal and Lopez

Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez captured Gold in Rio by defeating Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea in three sets.

Photo Source: AP

Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez, longtime compatriots and best of friends, completed an emotional run in Rio with a dramatic three-set victory over Romania’s Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea in the Olympic Men’s Doubles Gold medal match.

More: Nadal Sets Del Potro Clash, Murray to Face Nishikori in Rio

The 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 victory for the Spanish team marks their first Gold medal in Olympic Men’s Doubles. Nadal, the 2008 Men’s Singles Gold medal winner, now has two Golds in his trophy case with the chance for a third in Men’s Singles this year.

“It was amazing experience, especially doing that with one of my best friends, with Marc, is something unforgettable for me, for both of us, I think,” said Nadal, according to the ITF Olympic website. “To win a gold medal today after two months and a half with no practice, with no preparation at all, just working in the gym, is something that is a dream.”

Lopez, a 34-year-old Barcelona native, earns his first Olympic medal.

Nadal and Lopez won their fifth title as a team, but they had not played together once this year until they arrived at Rio. Not much was expected from the 14-time major champion, as he had arrived at the Olympics after more than two months off due to an injured left wrist tendon that had forced him out of Roland Garros in May.

But an inspired Nadal and Lopez, seeded sixth, allowed their chemistry and familiarity to guide them through the draw. They were taken to three sets in the second round by Juan Martin del Potro and Maximo Gonzalez, and needed two tiebreakers to edge Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil in the semifinals, but their biggest test came from Mergea and Tecau on Friday.

The Romanians, already assured of becoming the first tennis players to medal from their country, snagged the second set and had a break lead in the decider, but Lopez and Nadal rallied to capture the final three games.

When Mergea sent an overhead long, both Spaniards hit the deck before Lopez got up and ran to Nadal and embrace him.

Jack Sock and Steve Johnson claimed the Bronze medal with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Pospisil and Nestor.

Hingis and Bacsinszky to Face Vesnina and Makarova in Women’s Doubles Final

Martina Hingis is on the cusp of another incredible achievement, this time alongside Timea Bacsinszky. The Swiss duo battled past Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova, 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2 to reach the final.

A day that started with the possibility of an All-Czech doubles final ended with an all-Czech Bronze medal match, as Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina defeated Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova, 7-6(7), 6-4.


 

Latest News