Nadal Carries Spanish Hopes Into Next Round At Olympics

Rio de Janeiro: Spanish great Rafael Nadal beat Italy’s
Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the round of 16 in the Rio 2016 Olympic
tennis tournament.

His win followed losses earlier on Tuesday by
compatriots David Ferrer, Carla Suarez and GarbiAe Muguruza that left Nadal --
the gold medalist at the 2012 London Games -- as Spain’s only option for a medal
in singles play.

The Olympics mark Nadal’s return to
competition after a two-month hiatus due a wrist injured that forced him to
withdraw from the French Open.

World No. 5 Nadal jumped out to a 3-0 lead
over the 71st-ranked Italian, who hasn’t won a tournament since 2012, and
rolled to a fairly easy victory.

Rafa’s next opponent will be Gilles Simon of
France, who beat Japan’s Yuichi Sugita 7-6 (3), 6-2.

IANS