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Nadal overcomes hostile public to reach semifinals at Rio Olympics

Xinhua, August 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Spanish tennis star, Rafael Nadal, qualified for the semifinals of the men's singles tennis tournament at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Friday by defeating Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci by 2-6, 6-4 and 6-2.

With the support of the home crowd, more suited to soccer match than tennis, and with the crowd having to be warned several times by the referee, Bellucci shone in the first set. He played some excellent tennis, even better than Nadal, who seemed to be more focused on winning the doubles final afterwards than his singles match.

The Brazilian, who had lost his five previous encounters with Nadal, came out of the changing rooms very motivated and managed to win the first break point in the third game when it was 1-1.

With an aggressive play, Bellucci did not give Nadal any options. There was nothing the Spaniard could do to contain his opponent, who won the first set 6-2.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic champion drew together his pride and his best play in the second set where he began to connect his feared hits from the baseline while at the same time Bellucci, known for his irregularity, began to wane.

At 1-1 in the second set, the Spaniard, former world number one, managed a break in service and continued to maintain his in order to put him 4-1 up.

When it seemed like Nadal was on track to win the second set, Bellucci returned the break but Nadal, more consistent than in the fist set, did not let the Brazilian intimidate him. Nadal went on to win the second set 6-4.

In the third set, despite unconditional public support for Bellucci, Nadal overcame adversity and maintained his serve and he also managed to break two of Bellucci's serves allowing the Spaniard to win the final set 6-2.

Nadal, who is currently playing in the final of the men's doubles, stayed to sign a few balls after the singles match and the crowd once again showed their love and support for the tennis star, despite him beating their local player.

In the singles semifinals, Nadal will face Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro. Endit