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What has been an upset-plagued draw at the Rio 2016 Olympic tennis tournament will conclude with a Gold Medal showdown between the reigning Australian Open champion and a player who is guaranteed to become her country’s first ever female Olympic medallist.
Second seed Angelique Kerber will meet Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig in the Gold Medal match after both players posted contrasting victories in the semi-finals to set up the final no one could possibly have predicted at the start of the tournament.
Kerber, who assumed favouritism for the Gold Medal after both Williams sisters and Garbine Muguruza crashed out early, defeated Madison Keys in straight sets while Puig continued on her giant-killing run, upsetting Petra Kvitova in three sets.
The Puerto Rican, who had earlier taken down recent French Open champion Muguruza, started slowly against the dual-Wimbledon champion, falling behind 3-0 in the first set.
That’s more games than she conceded in each of her last two matches – she’d only lost two games against Muguruza in the third round and Laura Siegemund in the quarter-finals.
But the 22-year-old, whose only career title came in Strasbourg in 2014 and who reached the final of the Sydney International at the start of this year, regrouped to win six of the next seven games to take the opening set 6-4.
The left-handed Czech would hit straight back in the second set, losing just one game to level the match at one-set all and ensure a grandstand finish.
Puig would break for a 2-0 lead early in the deciding set but Kvitova would break in the next game to get it back on serve. The 26-year-old later dropped her serve in the eighth game, giving the Puerto Rican the chance to serve out the match.
That she did, sealing victory when the Czech sent a forehand long and guaranteeing herself not only an Olympic medal, but also the first of any kind for a female athlete from her country.
Whether it will be gold or silver will depend on whether she can cap off the most improbable run in Olympic tennis history against reigning Australian Open champion and Gold Medal favourite Angelique Kerber.
The German defeated Madison Keys 6-3, 7-5 to become the first woman from her country since Steffi Graf at Barcelona in 1992 to reach the Gold Medal match.
She now has the chance to emulate Graf’s effort of 1988 in topping the Olympic dais, and will start the prohibitive favourite against Puig, who is not to be taken lightly as two of her victories came against Grand Slam champions.
It will be the pair’s third meeting, with Kerber winning both of their previous matches including their most recent one in straight sets at the Rogers Cup in Toronto last year.
This means the Bronze Medal match will be contested by Petra Kvitova and Madison Keys, either of whom will become a first-time Olympic Bronze Medallist.
Meanwhile, in the men’s tournament, the two semi-finals have been set with Juan Martin del Potro to face off against 2008 Gold Medallist Rafael Nadal in the top half and reigning Gold Medallist Andy Murray to meet Kei Nishikori in the bottom half.
It will be the second consecutive Olympics whereby each of the last four men have reached at least one Grand Slam final, of which three had won at least one Grand Slam title.
Back in London four years ago, it was Murray who was the odd one out, having not yet won a Grand Slam title when he reached the final four (and eventually went on to win the Gold Medal, defeating Roger Federer in the final).
The Scot has since won the 2012 US Open as well as Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, all under the coaching of Ivan Lendl who is again in his corner as he bids to become the first man or woman to successfully defend the Gold Medal in tennis.
This time, it’s Kei Nishikori who is the odd one out, his lone shot at Major glory ending in disappointing fashion when he was defeated by Marin Cilic in the final of the 2014 US Open.
Del Potro, the Bronze Medallist four years ago, continued his dream run by defeating Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut in straight sets while Nadal had to dig deep to defeat local favourite Thomaz Bellucci in three sets.
It will be their most important meeting since the 2009 US Open, when del Potro handed the Spaniard his heaviest defeat at a Major, winning 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
The 27-year-old also defeated the nine-times French Open champion in straight sets their most recent meeting, in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters in 2013.
Because of that he will have reason to believe that he can again bring Nadal down, but it’s the 30-year-old who will start favourite to reach his second Olympic final and look to add to the Gold Medal he won in Beijing in 2008.
In the bottom half, both Kei Nishikori and Andy Murray had to endure final-set tiebreaks before eventually pulling through.
Nishikori, the 2014 US Open finalist, saved three match points to edge out French showman Gael Monfils while Murray came from a break down in the third set to defeat American 12th seed Steve Johnson.
The Scot was also forced to come from behind to defeat Italy’s Fabio Fognini in the third round, proving that he hasn’t had it all his way as he attempts to repeat his London heroics.
Against Nishikori, the 29-year-old will again be tested, but will start favourite to advance to his second Olympic final where Rafael Nadal could await.
If it happens, either man will be guaranteed to become a dual Olympic gold medallist, should they win. The pair have only met in four finals ever, with Murray winning three of them, including once on clay at the Madrid Masters last year.
This would mean the Bronze Medal match would be contested by Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori. The Argentine has won all four of their meetings so far, including in London four years ago en route to the Bronze Medal.
Another medal of any kind for the “Tower of Tandil”, as he is nicknamed, would cap off yet another comeback from yet another serious wrist injury, but whatever medal he will play for will depend on the result of his semi-final against Nadal.
Women’s Gold Medal match
Monica Puig (PUR) vs Angelique Kerber (GER)
Women’s Bronze Medal match
Petra Kvitova (CZE) vs Madison Keys (USA)
Men’s semi-finals
Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) vs Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Andy Murray (GBR)
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