Rafael Nadal (Photo : Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal will open his bid for a second Gold Medal in men's singles competition when the King of Clay plays Argentina's Federico Delbonis on Sunday at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
All eyes will be at Nadal when he takes on the hard court for the first time since suffering a left wrist injury in May at Roland Garros. After being undecided to participate at the Rio Olympics due to injury concerns, Nadal guaranteed he will play singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the quadrennial event.
But despite being committed to fully participating at the Olympics, Nadal has admitted he won't be 100 percent competing in Rio, adding that he will attempt his best to play with the "least amount of pain possible."
"I will try to play with the least amount of pain possible. I intend to compete both in singles and doubles, and to try my best. We will see what happens," Nadal told Cadena Ser via Tennis World USA.
The third-seeded Nadal has won all of his two matches against Delbonis, most recently in last year's Argentina Open. But it could be a tough match for Nadal, with the Spaniard lacking competitive matches for more than two months.
The winner between Nadal and Delbonis gets to book a second round match against Italy's Andreas Seppi, who defeated Ukraine's Illya Marchenko 6-3 3-6 7-6(6).
Meanwhile, world No. 2 Andy Murray starts his title defense against Serbia's Viktor Troicki in the first round of the tournament. Murray, who won a Gold Medal at the 2012 London Olympics, has never lost to Troicki in all seven of their head-to-head matches, but the Scot admitted it could be a tough match facing the world No. 35.
"He's one of the better players that's not seeded," Murray said, reports the Tennis Magazine. "He likes the hard court. Good competitor, good mover. Definitely a tough opening match."
A win for Murray would put advance him to the second round, where Juan Monaco awaits after the Argentine defeated Bosnian Mirza Basic in straight sets 6-2 6-2.
Live streaming info and score updates
Watch 2016 Rio Olympics tennis men's singles: Nadal vs Delbonis, Murray vs Troicki live via NBC. Live score updates will be available during game days at ATP World Tour's official website.
