Nadal strikes doubles gold

RIO DE JANEIRO — Rafael Nadal won his second Olympic Games gold medal Friday and took a step closer to a third by reaching the Rio singles semifinal. Spanish great Nadal and longtime friend Marc Lopez defeated Romania’s Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau 6-2, 3-6, 4-6 in the men’s doubles title match. The bronze went to Steve Johnson and Jack Sock of the United States. They beat the Canadian team of Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-4. Nadal, the 2008 singles champion in Beijing, is just the fourth player to win gold in singles and doubles after Serena and Venus Williams and Chile’s Nicolas Massu. “It was an amazing experience to win with my best friend,” said Nadal after victory was secured courtesy of a wild Tecau smash, sparking an emotional celebration between the two Spaniards. “We fought and gave everything. I didn’t play for two and a half months, no practice, just work in gym. We had fun and fought hard.” Martina Hingis marked her return to the Games after a 20-year absence by reaching the women’s doubles final in dramatic style after an opponent was hit in the eye by the ball. Hingis and her Swiss compatriot Timea Bacsinszky saw off Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 5-7, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in the semifinal. However, the match turned with the Czechs leading by a set, 5-4 and 30-15, putting them just two points from the final. Hlavackova was accidentally hit in the eye by a powerful Hingis drive and required lengthy treatment. Although she played on, the momentum swung in the direction of the Swiss team who will face Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina for the gold medal.