Spain's Rafael Nadal lost at the Rio Olympics in the men's singles event for the first time in his career, as the 2008 Olympic gold medalist suffered a three-set defeat to Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, who is playing inspired tennis after suffering from his own injury woes, and the "Tower of Tandil" ousted Nadal's projected semifinal opponent, the world number one, Novak Djokovic in the first round.

On the subject of injury, Japan's fourth seed, Kei Nishikori is no stranger to them and unfortunately for the Japanese star, injuries have hampered him from winning some big titles.

Nadal will be bitterly disappointed to have lost to del Potro in one of the men's matches of the tournament as he won the first set, however, the Spaniard claimed his second Olympic gold medal in the doubles with his good friend Marc Lopez that left the duo in tears.

Nishikori portrayed his resolve when he was down three match points in the quarterfinals against Gael Monfils, however, his performance against Andy Murray in the semifinals was from his best.

This bronze medal match between Nishikori and Nadal will be their 11th career meeting, and will Nadal leave with his third Olympic medal or will Nishikori gain a medal in his cabinet?

Nadal and Lopez with their Olympic gold medals following their victory over Romania's Tecau and Mergea (Photo by Clive Brunskill / Source : Getty Images)
Nadal and Lopez with their Olympic gold medals following their victory over Romania's Tecau and Mergea (Photo by Clive Brunskill / Source : Getty Images)

Nadal's route to the bronze medal match

The former world number one was competing in his first tournament in two and a half months since he withdrew from the French Open following the conclusion of his second round match due to  a wrist injury.

Nadal began his first Olympics campaign in eight years, as he missed the tournament four years ago in London due to suffering from knee tendonitis that ruled him out of competitive tennis for eight and a half months.

In his first round match, the Spaniard dispatched Argentina's Federico Delbonis in straight sets and followed this victory with another straight sets win over Italy's Andreas Seppi in the second round.

The third round pitted the 2008 Olympic gold medalist with France's 15th seed Gilles Simon, and it was the toughest match for Nadal on his return to tennis, and it was a gritty performance for the Spaniard as he defeated the Frenchman, 7-6, 6-3.

In the quarterfinals, Nadal was up against Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci who had the crowd behind him, and an inspired Bellucci displayed scintillating tennis in the first set and parts of the second set, however, he was able to cope with Nadal's resolve and fell 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Nadal had a battle with 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Juan Martin del Potro for a place in Sunday's gold medal match, and the 2009 US Open champion, has cruelly been robbed of two years of his tennis career in 2014 and 2015 due to wrist troubles.

Both men produced unbelievable tennis and provided the crowd with entertainment that will be in the memory bank for a long time, and umpire James Keothavong had to intervene to inform the passionate fans to calm down and respect both players.

Unfortunately for Nadal, he went down to del Potro, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 when his forehand went long in the final set tiebreak.

Nishikori's route to the bronze medal match

Nishikori was a quarterfinalist on his debut appearance at the Olympics in London in 2012 losing out to del Potro, and he began his campaign against Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas who reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open.

The 2014 US Open finalist sent the Spaniard packing 6-2, 6-4 to advance into the second round.

The fourth seed had a battle in the second round with Australia's John Millman, and Nishikori clawed his way back to take the opening set and eventually won in two tight sets, 7-6, 6-4.

In the third round, Nishikori was projected to face Germany's 13th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber but he withdrew  due to an injury, therefore, he faced Slovakia's Andrej Martin and took advantage of this by defeating the Slovakian, 6-2, 6-2.

The former world number four had a marathon quarterfinal match with Gael Monfils, and Nishikori saved five match points in their quarterfinal encounter in Miami earlier this year, and the charismatic Frenchman had the chance to gain his revenge.

However, the alarm bells were ringing for Nishikori, as Monfils was leading 6-3 in the final set tiebreak but the Japanese star remarkably hung around and won five consecutive points to seal his spot in the semifinals.

Unfortunately, Nishikori could not progress further in the tournament, and he was soundly beaten by defending Olympic gold medalist, Andy Murray in straight sets, which qualified him to compete in the bronze medal match.

A dejected Nishikori in his semifinal match with Andy Murray (Photo by Clive Brunskill / Source : Getty Images)
A dejected Nishikori in his semifinal match with Andy Murray (Photo by Clive Brunskill / Source : Getty Images)

Their history

Nadal and Nishikori have faced each other ten times on the ATP World tour and the Spaniard has a commanding 9-1 lead in their head-to-head meetings.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion leads 2-0 on grass, 4-1 on hard courts and 3-0 on clay courts.

The duo's first meeting occurred in the third round on the lawns of the Aegon Championships at the Queen's Club, and the Spaniard was victorious 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, and went on to win the title and followed his triumph by claiming his first Wimbledon singles title a few weeks later in arguably the greatest tennis match of all-time against Roger Federer.

Nadal went on to claim their next five meetings in straight sets which was in the first round of Wimbledon in 2010 en route to winning his second Wimbledon singles title, followed by two identical 6-4, 6-4 wins at the Miami Open in 2011 and 2012.

Their first meeting on clay was in the fourth round of the French Open in 2013, which Nadal went on to claim his record eighth title in Paris, and it was followed by a tight straight sets encounter in the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2014, which Nadal went on to reach the final, but suffered from a back injury that allowed Stan Wawrinka to claim his first Grand Slam singles title in four sets.

However, their seventh encounter in the final in Nadal's home country at the Mutua Madrid Open in 2014, was an exhibition by Nishikori who was on his way to defeating Nadal, but once again injury hampered his performance and was forced to retire in the final set, which allowed Nadal to retain the title by taking victory 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 retirement.

A year later, Nadal was struggling with form in 2015, and they met in the quarterfinals of the Coupe Rogers in 2015, where Nadal was a three-time champion, however, Nishikori pummelled the Spaniard, 6-2, 6-4 to record his first victory over Nadal.

The current world number five has won his two recent meetings with Nishikori in 2016 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and in the final of Barcelona, where he dethroned Nishikori a two-time defending champion in the Catalonian city.

Nadal reacts to a point in his semifinal match with del Potro (Photo by Clive Brunskill / Source : Getty Images)
Nadal reacts to a point in his semifinal match with del Potro (Photo by Clive Brunskill / Source : Getty Images)

Who wins the bronze medal?

Nadal has admitted that he wouldn't have played tennis this week if it wasn't the Olympic Games.

The former world number one has played a lot of tennis under his belt in Rio this week as he won gold in the doubles event, and withdrew from the mixed doubles with French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.

Nishikori was physically tired in his match with Murray as he had a long battle with Monfils in the previous round which was both mentally and physically draining.

The fourth seed will probably have a slight advantage over Nadal as the Spaniard has a lot of mileage this week, however, although this isn't the match any of them had in mind, the veteran will want to leave with a bronze medal in his cabinet.

Nishikori has had difficulty in the past dealing with the Spaniard's lefty serve, and Nadal is a good returner which Nishikori struggles to deal with, when he is serving.

Spain's Davis Cup and Fed Cup captain, Conchita Martinez has been ever-present in Nadal's camp, as she the 1994 Wimbledon champion has been following the progress of all of her charges this week.

Nadal has shown time and time again when facing adversity in the singles and doubles event, that he has produced the goods, and gained the victory.

Playing doubles has helped Nadal's game coming to the net this week which he has had a lot of success.

The fourth seed's forehand is a dangerous weapon, and he will be looking to target Nadal's backhand with it and penetrate his forehand through the court.

The US Open is now on the horizon and if Nishikori was to secure the bronze medal it will give him some confidence, as he is yet to claim a prestigious title.

Both players are passionate when they are representing their country, and although they may not be at 100%, it will be an entertaining encounter for the fans to watch.

This bronze medal match is scheduled second on Court 1.

Prediction: Nadal in three sets

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