Organisers are eager to get proceedings at the Olympic Tennis Centre back on schedule after no matches took place on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions.
A total of 26 matches was cancelled yesterday, meaning that some players face the prospect of a manic second half of the week if they wish to medal multiple times. One of the players most affected is Rafael Nadal, who will play three matches today (weather permitting). Thursday will see the men complete their third round matches and the women battle it out in the quarter-finals.
Starting first on centre court, Nadal will play 15th seed Gilles Simon. Both players reached the last sixteen at the tournament without dropping a set. Nadal dismissed Federico Delbonis and Andres Seppi, whilst Simon overcame Borna Coric and Yuichi Sugita. Nadal has a commanding 7-1 head-to-head record against the Frenchman, suffering his only loss at the 2008 Madrid Open. The world No.7 is the clear favourite to win the encounter, however, there are still concerns surrounding his troublesome wrist.
Andy Murray will face his biggest test of the Olympics so far against Fabio Fognini. The fiery Italian might be currently far from his best tennis, however, he has the game to trouble Murray. The Wimbledon champion has experienced two wins and two losses against Fognini. Thursday’s match will be their first meeting since the 2014 Valencia Open, when the world No.2 won in straight sets. Murray is expected to come through, but don’t expect the proceedings to be plain sailing for the Brit.
In the women’s draw, second seed Angelique Kerber will play Johanna Konta is what will be a rematch of this year’s Australian Open quarter-final. The German has been in impressive form in Rio, producing comprehensive straight sets wins over Eugenie Bouchard and Sam Stosur. Meanwhile, Konta has also shined at the tournament with a hard-fought three sets triumph over Svetlana Kuznetsova in the previous round. This encounter promises to be the standout women’s match on day six.
The other three women’s quarter-finals matches include a battle of the rising stars with Madison Keys facing Daria Kasatkina in what will be the first meeting between the two players. Elina Svitolina will be hoping to continue her dream run against Petra Kvitova. The Ukrainian lost to the two-time Wimbledon champion in three sets in the 2015 Dubai Open. Finally, Garbine Muguruza’s conqueror Monica Puig will take on Laura Siegemund. Puig has the chance to become the first player from her country to win an Olympic medal in tennis. Prior to 2016, Puerto Rico has only won medals in Athletics, wrestling and boxing.
Full order of play
