Tennis fans rooting for Rafael Nadal have much to cheer for, the Spaniard who is returning from a wrist injury, has qualified for the quarter-finals of men's singles and the finals of the men's doubles at the Rio Olympics 2016.

 

Nadal faced a major blow when an injury to his left wrist forced him to withdraw from his beloved Roland Garros. With nine French Open titles in his kitty, Nadal is considered as the greatest clay court player in the world. 

 

According to the latest ATP rankings, Nadal who ranks No. 4, even missed the Wimbledon this year; which is why Nadal's positive show so far at the games has been very impressive. 

 

Meanwhile, Nadal has ensured himself a medal at Rio, making it to the final of the men's tennis doubles. 

 

The Spanish duo, Nadal and Marc Lopez, defeated Canada's Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil to enter the finals.

 

They will now face Romania's Florin Mergea and Horia Tecău in the gold medal match, which will be played in the early hours of Saturday, according to Indian Standard time (IST). 

 

Day 7 at Rio will be quite hectic for the two-time Wimbledon champion, as he has one doubles final and a singles quarter-final to play.  

 

Nadal's quarter-final fixture against home player Thomaz Bellucci is scheduled for 10pm (IST) at Olympic Tennis Centre at the Barra Olympic Park. He'll be back at the same venue almost two hours later for the men's doubles final. This will a true test of his fitness and mental abilities.

 

At 22, Nadal became the first Spanish player to win an Olympic gold in the men's single's event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He defeated arch-rival Novak Djokovic in the semi-final before beating Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in the final. 

 

With Djokovic's first-round elimination and Roger Federer's absence, Rio 2016 will be Nadal’s best chance to add a second Olympic gold to his CV.

 

If he does bag the gold at the single's event, he will be the first-ever tennis player to win a second Olympic gold in the event.