RAFAEL NADAL PLAYS NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN SEMI-FINAL

Photos of the quarter final match at the Olympics
Rafael Nadal defeated Jurgen Melzer

Above two photo credits: ITF

Above two photo credits: Getty

Photo credit: AS

Here is the schedule for August 15

Friday (SF) Semi Final and (QF) Quarter-Final

Starts 4:00 p.m. Beijing Time ~ this is the same as USA EST 4:00 a.m.

SF (8) BLAKE James (United States) vs (12) GONZALEZ Fernando (Chile)

QF (6) SAFINA Dinara (Russian Fed ) vs (2) JANKOVIC Jelena (Serbia )

SF (3) DJOKOVIC Novak (Serbia) vs (2) NADAL Rafael (Spain)

QF (1) KUZNETSOVA Svetlana / SAFINA Dinara (Russian Fed.) vs (8) YAN Zi / ZHENG Jie (China)
Source


Figuring out when Rafa will play depends on how long the other matches go and of course if it rains.

Rafa didn't begin his Quarter Final match against Austrian Jurgen Melzer until midnight, Beijing time (due to rain delay). Rafa won 6-0, 6-4. The match ended at 1:10 a.m. He should have played in the evening around 7:00 p.m.

Match statistics

Men's Singles Semi finals

Rafael Nadal of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia meet for the 14th time. Nadal, who will assume the World No. 1 ranking on August 18, leads Djokovic 9-4 in their head-to-head series, but Djokovic has won four of their six meetings on hard court. Nadal has won seven titles this year, including his fourth French Open and his first Wimbledon Singles title, while Djokovic has captured three titles, including his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Athens 2004 Bronze medallist Fernando Gonzalez of Chile is aiming to go a step further and reach the Olympic Singles final by defeating James Blake of the United States. Blake scored his first win in nine attempts against World No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Thursday, August 14, but he hasn't defeated Gonzalez since the end of 2003, losing their last five meetings, including three on hard court.Source

Watch live at www.nbcolympics.com
Rafa's matches have been online for his previous matches at the Olympics, so I hope the Semi- Final match on August 15 will be accessible also.

Video ~ ATP Tennis Show - A Change at Number 1
Monday, August 18, 2008, marks a milestone in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, with Roger Federer's record 237 consecutive week reign at No. 1 ending and Rafael Nadal claiming top spot for the first time after 160 weeks at No. 2.

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www.darfurolympics.org

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