Close calls! Nadal, Murray both squeak into Olympic semis
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After struggling for much of his Olympic quarterfinal against a Brazilian opponent backed by a raucous home crowd, Rafael Nadal finally seized control by using a big backhand to set up an easy putaway at the net for a third-set service break.
Perhaps wary of drawing the ire of all of those flag-waving fans, Nadal offered a rather muted reaction — none of the leaps or uppercuts or yells of "Vamos!" he'd displayed earlier at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Nadal moved into the semifinals as he bids to add a second singles gold to the one he earned for Spain in 2008, handling a hostile environment and coming back to beat 54th-ranked Thomaz Bellucci 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Friday.
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"I don't even know how things are going so well," said Nadal, who missed the past 2½ months with an injured left wrist, "because I didn't do any preparation for the tournament."
Andy Murray, the defending champion from Britain, also is trying to become the first tennis player with a pair of Olympic singles titles. He found himself in an even tenser, tighter match, before emerging to edge Steve Johnson of the United States 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (2).
"Close to going out," Murray said after winning despite trailing by a break in the third set for the second match in a row. "Sometimes that can work in your favor as the tournament goes on. You start to feel a little bit better. You loosen up a little bit."
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In the semifinals Saturday, Nadal will play 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, while Murray faces Kei Nishikori of Japan.
Del Potro, who knocked out No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round, beat Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 7-5, 7-6 (4). Nishikori got past Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (6).
The women's final is also Saturday, when Monica Puig attempts to win Puerto Rico's first gold medal in any sport in Olympic history. She beat two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, and will face Angelique Kerber of Germany or Madison Keys of the U.S. next.
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"This Olympics isn't about me," the 34th-ranked Puig said. "It's about Puerto Rico, and I know how bad they want this."
No matter what happens in his singles semifinal, Nadal will get to leave Rio with a medal: He and Marc Lopez were scheduled to play in the men's doubles final later Friday.
Not bad for a guy who missed the London Games four years ago because of a knee injury, then came to Brazil with a wrist he says is not fully healed.
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"Maybe he's not (enjoying) the best time of his career," Bellucci said, "but he's playing really well."
Nadal is a former No. 1 and owns 14 Grand Slam titles. Bellucci, who lives in Sao Paulo, is also a lefty, but that's pretty much where the similarities end.
He reached a career-best ranking of 21st in 2010, not long after making his only trip to the fourth round of a major tournament. He arrived at his home Olympics with an 11-18 record in 2016 — and a career losing mark, too.
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It was Nadal who started shakily, though, committing 10 unforced errors and generating only two winners in the opening set. He was broken twice and never earned so much as a single break chance.
Nadal cleaned things up in the second, though, and while he did get broken again while serving for it at 5-3, he broke right back with a running cross-court forehand passing winner to force a third.
Following a shanked forehand early in the final set, Nadal kicked his foot against the court. At the time, it appeared to be a sign of frustration. But at the ensuing changeover, Nadal removed his left shoe so a trainer could tape up the little toe on that foot.
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Right after that lengthy break, Nadal broke at love to go ahead 3-1, and that was pretty much that.
Still, Bellucci enjoyed the atmosphere. Fans cheered for Nadal's miscues — even faults, generally considered a no-no in tennis — and roared for Bellucci's best shots as if victory and defeat hung in the balance with each point.
When their guy would grab a game, they would sing, soccer-style, "Ole, ole, ole, ole! Tho-maz! Tho-maz!"
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They reprised that chorus even after he lost.
"It was, Bellucci said, "amazing for me."
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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich