Rafael Nadal decides to play Olympic singles after missing withdrawal deadline

Nadal is expected to play the Hungarian at around 2pm local time on Court Phillippe Chatrier after doubts were raised before the tournament over whether he would play in the singles.

He was struggling with physical problems at first, which made it a mission for him to play with coach Carlos Moya, who will be joining him this week, but he said he wasn’t sure if he would play singles and that it was uncertain.

The scheduling of the Olympics to get Nadal into the top position also didn’t help their case to get their biggest name involved in the tournament today. He lashed out at tournament officials for making him play until 10pm when he has to play the next day at 2pm.

He also said that because of that he wasn’t sure if he would play in the singles. But he had until 11:30 to withdraw from the singles and he didn’t request to withdraw. He was also seen practicing this morning, so it seems like he’s doing well. So the dream is still alive.

“A game at 2pm? I don’t understand the schedule. It seems outrageous to me if I play at 2pm,” he said yesterday.

“I don’t know if I’ll play tomorrow,” he added. “I’ll have to go back to the village and talk to the team, I’ll make the decision that I think is most appropriate to have a chance of getting results for Spain. Sometimes less is more.”

It seems that he and his team have decided to take the plunge and play singles after all, so that Nadal fans can welcome their hero this afternoon.