Marc Lopez claimed fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal is gradually recovering from injury day by day as the King of Clay approaches a hectic schedule at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Lopez, who will be Nadal's doubles partner at the Rio Olympics, sees the 14-time Grand Slam winner progressing well from a left wrist injury suffered at Roland Garros in May. While Lopez admitted Nadal is still suffering pain on his wrist, recent reports suggests the Mallorcan is ready for the hard court competition at the quadrennial sporting event.
"Each day, Nadal is getting better. It's an injury with slow recovery, but I see him getting better and better. I know Rafa has pain but only he knows the level of such pain. He's sees himself with options to play," Lopez said, reports Punto de Break.
After mulling over his options of whether to skip some of the events at Rio 2016, Nadal, Spain's flag-bearer, has confirmed he will play singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the event, reports the Tennis Magazine.
"After discussing it with my team, I have decided I will play everything that I can," Nadal told reporters. "We are here and practice has gone well, more or less. It's not ideal ... The MRI scan was OK."
Nadal was able to withstand a six-hour long practice session, indicating the Spaniard is fit enough to compete in all three categories. But there are still concerns over Nadal's form as he was seen leaving the training session with an ice pack to ease the pressure on his left wrist as noted by Vavel.
After arriving in Rio this weekend, Nadal admitted he won't be at his best level competing for a second Olympic Gold Medal as he has been lacking competitive matches for over two months. His left wrist injury has kept him from participating at Wimbledon and the Rogers Cup, but after practice sessions with top players like Andy Murray seemingly went well, Nadal could be ready to return to the tennis scene.
Nadal, ranked as No. 5 in the ATP world rankings, enters the singles event as the third seed after Swiss players Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka withdrew from the Olympic Games. He is also scheduled to play mixed doubles with 2016 French Open titlist Garbine Muguruza.