Rafa Joins 800 Match Wins Club In Rio
Spaniard rallies to beat Bellucci, will face del Potro
Rafael Nadal scored a milestone quarter-final win at the Rio Olympics on Friday, coming back from a set down to beat home hope Thomaz Bellucci 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Nadal became the eighth player in the Open Era to register at least 800 career singles match wins.
800 Match Wins Club
|
Player |
Wins |
|
1,256 |
|
|
1,080 |
|
|
3) Ivan Lendl |
1,068 |
|
929 |
|
|
5) John McEnroe |
877 |
|
6) Andre Agassi |
870 |
|
801 |
|
|
8) Rafael Nadal |
800 |
Rafa’s Milestone Wins
|
No. 1 – 2002 Mallorca 1R d. R. Delgado |
|
No. 100 – + 2005 Stuttgart 2R d. Armando |
|
No. 200 – 2007 Miami 4R d. del Potro |
|
No. 300 – + 2008 Queen’s QF d. Karlovic |
|
No. 400 – 2009 Davis Cup 1R d. Berdych |
|
No. 500 – + 2011 Barcelona SF d. Dodig |
|
No. 600 – + 2013 Indian Wells F d. del Potro |
|
No. 700 – 2014 Wimbledon 1R d. Klizan |
|
No. 800 – 2016 Olympics QF d. Bellucci |
+ Won title
Bellucci struck eight winners to Nadal’s two in claiming the opening set. The Spaniard regained momentum by attacking the net. After only coming forward once in the first set, Nadal went 11-for-13 the rest of the way. He improved to 6-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with the Brazilian.
Next up for Nadal is Juan Martin del Potro, who edged Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5, 7-6(4). The powerful Argentine fired 42 winners, including 27 off his favoured forehand wing, in the two-hour, 11-minute encounter. Nadal leads the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 8-4, but del Potro swept the pair’s most recent meeting, winning 6-2, 6-4 in Shanghai three years ago.
"I cannot believe the moment, the crowd makes me cry in every match," del Potro told the ITF after his match. "I don’t want to think about Rafa yet, he is the next opponent and he is the favourite to get to the final and get the medal, but I am so glad with my success and I will try to be 100 per cent."
Second seed Andy Murray beat No. 12 seed Steve Johnson 6-0, 4-6, 7-6(2) to reach the semi-finals. The defending Olympic champion, who came back from a break down at 3-4 in the third set, fended off 31 winners from the American and won 78 per cent of points off his first serve to advance to the last four in two hours and 11 minutes.
"It feels special because we don’t get this opportunity all of the time, competing to win medals for your country," Murray told the ITF. "For me, it has nothing to do with having won the gold in London. It's trying to win more medals for your country and your team and I'll give my best shot to do that."
Watch Murray FedEx ATP Profile
Murray next faces fourth seed Kei Nishikori, who saved three match points in beating No. 6 seed Gael Monfils 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(6). Nishikori was trailing 6-3 in the deciding tie-break, but won the last five points of the match to advance. He finished with 23 forehand winners.
