Spanish Olympic committee president Alejandro Blanco believes world number five Rafael Nadal should be carrying the flag for Spain in the 2016 Olympic Opening Ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. Nadal was appointed to be Spain's flag bearer for the London 2012 Opening Ceremony but had to withdraw from the Olympics with knee issues that kept him out the rest of that year. Nadal won the Olympic singles gold medal in 2008 in Beijing, defeating Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in the gold medal match.
Tennis' Place In The Olympics
Several players have been selected as flag bearers for their countries in previous Olympics. Agnieszka Radwanska and Novak Djokovic were both flag bearers in the London 2012 opening ceremony while Maria Sharapova carried the Olympic torch at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic opening ceremony. Danish former world number one Caroline Wozniacki was announced as Denmark's flag bearer during the opening ceremonies in Rio this summer.
Nadal Surprised With Surface For Olympics
Nadal was surprised with the choice of surface for the Olympics. With Brazil being a clay court heavy country and with most of their players being clay-court specialists, the nine-time French Open champion was surprised to hear that the Olympics would be played on a hard court.
"I am surprised that in a country which has clay specialists the Olympics are going to be played on hard court," said Nadal.
Brazil's best players over the past years, most notably Gustavo Kuerten, have experienced almost all their success on clay. Kuerten is a three-time Roland Garros champion, and was known for his clay court skills. Nadal, a nine-time French Open champion and widely known as the King of Clay, has also enjoyed most of his success on clay, winning all but five of his fourteen majors on the red dirt.
Nadal will be in Rio in a few weeks for the Rio Open, an event that is played on clay during the South American Golden Swing. Nadal won the inaugural edition of the Rio Open back in 2014.
Nadal's Difficult Start To 2016
Nadal began his year getting obliterated in the Doha final, losing in straight sets to world number one Novak Djokovic. Nadal lost first round in Melbourne to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, due to Verdasco's incredible power. Verdasco said that he and Nadal have discussed playing doubles in Rio in hopes of getting another medal for Spain.