Rafael Nadal hopes to continue his impressive form at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil when the King of Clay faces French Gilles Simon at the men's tennis singles category.
Nadal displayed yet another remarkable performance at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games after defeating Italy's Andreas Seppi in the second round of the men's singles category 6-3 6-3. Despite concerns over his form after coming off a left wrist injury that sidelined him for more than two months, the 14-time Grand Slam winner showed no marks of setbacks as he bids for a second Olympic Gold Medal.
"Not much pressure for me," Nadal said, reports Fox News Sports. "Two months without competing, I don't expect much."
Nadal next faces Simon, who defeated Japanese Wild Card Yuichi Sugita 7-6(3) 6-2. The 30-year-old Mallorcan leads Simon by 7-1 in their ATP Head2Head matchup, including victories from their last five meetings. If Nadal could replicate level in the past two matches, he could convincingly advance into the quarterfinals, where he could face either Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci or Belgian David Goffin.
Meanwhile, world No. 2 Andy Murray will get another chance to inch closer in defending his Olympic Gold Medal when he meets Italy's Fabio Fognini in the third round of the event.
Murray cruised past Juan Monaco, defeating the Argentine in straight sets 6-3 6-1 and continuing his 14-match winning streak since losing the French Open in June.
"I played pretty well. I hit the ball well from the back of the court," Murray said, reports the BBC. "I didn't make many unforced errors and it was a good match."
The Scot ties Fognini 2-2 in their ATP Head2Head matchup, although their last meeting was back in 2014 at the Valencia Open, where Murray defeated the Italian in swift fashion. The winner between Murray and Fognini could face Evgeny Donskoy of Russia or 12th seed American Steve Johnson.
Live streaming info and score updates
Watch 2016 Rio Olympics tennis men's singles: Nadal vs Simon and Murray vs Fognini live via NBC. Live score updates will be available during game days at ATP World Tour's official website.