Rafael Nadal teamed with countryman Marc Lopez to win the gold medal in men’s doubles tennis at the Rio Olympics on Friday, beating Romania’s Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the final. Lopez/Nadal were down a break in the deciding set, but swept the last three games to prevail. The win capped off a busy day for Nadal, as the 2008 singles gold medalist (d. Gonzalez) came back from a set down to secure his 800th match win in the singles quarter-finals over Thomaz Bellucci.

The Spaniards, seeded fifth, landed 81 per cent of first serves in the opening set and did not face a break point. Mergea/Tecau relied on power to level the match, firing 19 winners (46 total) to send the match to a deciding set. The Romanians appeared in command after breaking Lopez to love in the seventh game of the final set, but could not hold on and succumbed after two hours and 30 minutes.

Americans Steve Johnson and Jack Sock won the bronze medal after topping Canada’s Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-4. Johnson/Sock used their heavy forehands to good effect against the Canadians’ net-rushing game. They hit twice as many winners (26 to 13) and did not face break point in the 63-minute win. It was the second match of the day for Johnson, who pushed Andy Murray to three sets in the singles quarter-finals.

Second seed Andy Murray beat No. 12 seed Steve Johnson 6-0, 4-6, 7-6(2) to reach the semi-finals in Rio on Friday. The defending Olympic champion, who came back from a break down at 3-4 in the third set, fended off 31 winners from the American and won 78 per cent of points off his first serve to advance to the last four in two hours and 11 minutes. Murray next faces the winner of fourth seed Kei Nishikori and No. 6 seed Gael Monfils.

Watch Murray FedEx ATP Profile

Also in action today: Rafael Nadal vs Thomaz Bellucci, Juan Martin del Potro vs Roberto Bautista Agut, Steve Johnson/Jack Sock vs Daniel Nestor/Vasek Pospisil for doubles bronze and Marc Lopez/Rafael Nadal vs Florin Mergea/Horia Tecau for doubles gold.

Look back on eight Classic Moments from the Western & Southern Open, and help crown the Golden Moment from this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

Watch & Vote

Watch the clips and vote for your favourite of each match-up. Round 1, which runs from now until noon ET Tuesday, August 16, features four head-to-head battles:

Federer Saves Match Points (2003) vs Federer Triumphs In No. 1-2 Final (2012)
Agassi Overcomes Roddick (2004) vs Isner Fights Past del Potro (2013)
Nadal Clinches No. 1 (2008) vs Rafa-Roger Rivalry (2013)
Nadal’s Marathon Win (2011) vs Murray Back From The Brink (2015)

Ensure your favourites advance to the semi-finals. Watch & Vote Now!

Pablo Carreno Busta rallied from a set and a break down to beat Santiago Giraldo 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-3 at the Abierto Mexicano Mifel on Thursday. The Spanish wild card broke serve five times and edged Giraldo in a match which lasted just over three hours in the hot and humid conditions of Los Cabos.

“It was quite a difficult match,” Carreno Busta said. “Santiago was a tough opponent. Things were not looking good after I lost the first set, but I stayed calm and got the win in the end.”

The 25 year old came into the week with just one hard-court win at the ATP World Tour level on the season (d. Donskoy in Indian Wells), but is now a match away from reaching his first tour-level hard-court final. Carreno Busta was runner-up at clay-court ATP World Tour 250 events in Estoril and Sao Paulo earlier this year.

In the semi-finals, Carreno Busta will face top seed Feliciano Lopez or Julien Benneteau.

Indian Duo Into Doubles Semi-Finals

Purav Raja and Divij Sharan saw their opponents Nicholas Monroe and Artem Sitak take the first set of their quarter-final clash 6-1, but recovered to win 1-6, 6-3, 10-7 to move into the semi-finals. The Indian duo claimed 11 of 16 second-serve return points and broke serve three times (3/4) to advance in 74 minutes.

Also victorious were Jonathan Erlich and Ken Skupski, who took out No. 3 seeds Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Mate Pavic 6-4, 1-6, 10-5. Erlich/Skupski saved seven break points (7/11) in the 72-minute encounter.