Rafael Nadal expects to attain another shot at being the flag bearer in 2016 – Tennis News
Spanish hero, Rafael Nadal, is gutted by the fact that he will not be the flag bearer for the upcoming London Olympics at Wimbledon but he wishes to perform the duty in the next edition of Olympics that will be scheduled in 2016.
The Spaniard was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a knee injury that erupted at the end of the second round exit at Wimbledon Championships. He was struggling from it for a long time but in July, the pain level enhanced
so much that it triggered Nadal to skip the Olympics championship, the event that was ruled by him in 2008. He was suppose to step in as the defending champion for the gold medal campaign but fortune had written something else in his favour.
Nadal commented, “It was the most difficult decision which I have taken in my career and possibly the saddest. It was a unique opportunity so obviously I am sad. My goal now is to continue to work hard to try to have another chance
in Rio in 2016. I hope I will be prepared to compete there and have another opportunity to carry the flag.”
On commenting about the new flag bearer, Pau Gasol, Nadal added, “I think he is a fabulous representative of Spain. I think Pau is an example for society and for all athletes. There is something special about Pau, I wish him the
best and I hope he enjoys the experience a great deal.” Gasol is a basketball player and plays in Los Angeles Lakers.
Feliciano Lopez will replace the King of Clay at the grass court of All England Lawn Tennis Club during the Olympics and in the doubles category; Nadal is replaced by Mark Lopez. Initially, Marcel Granollers was teamed up with
Nadal but now Lopez will heads on with his long time doubles partner in the hunt for the gold medal at London Olympics.
Nadal had a tough grass court season and the early exit at Wimbledon was one of the examples. He lost the second spot in the process and dropped to world number as the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, claimed the number one spot after
lifting the 17th Grand Slam title of his career at Wimbledon and the reigning Australian Open champion, Novak Djokovic, dropped to number two.
It will be a dry tennis play at Olympics without the talented Spaniard. However, the pursuit of first gold medal continues for Federer and Djokovic as they head on one of the biggest tournaments of the season.
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