Olympic Highlights Day Four: Second chances for Nadal & Murray as Biles goes for gold
Tennis
Men's doubles (second round)
15:00 CET Carlos Alcaraz & Rafael Nadal vs Tallon Griekspoor & Wesley Koolhof
16:30 CET Daniel Evans & Andy Murray vs Sander Gille & Joran Vliegen
They may not be what they used to be but the crowds can still enjoy the presence of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. The long-standing Spanish King of Clay was downed in the singles by Novak Djokovic, while Murray eventually pulled out of the singles at the last minute. In the doubles, however, both veterans are still alive for a chance at a medal.
Nadal has joined forces with his successor Carlos Alcaraz and in the second round of the doubles tournament they will challenge Dutch duo Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof, the latter being a specialist and the 20th player in the world doubles rankings.
For Murray, the Paris Olympics is his 'last dance'. But in the first round, it was already evident that he didn't want to quit just yet. In a nerve-wracking opening round clash with Japanese pair Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori, he and Daniel Evans fended off five match points and now face the unpredictable Belgian pair of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.
Both are in contention to advance to the quarter-finals and the organisers have placed both matches in the Suzanne Lenglen Arena for consecutive afternoon and evening times.
Judo
Women's under 63 kg
16:00 CET - Paris, Champ de Mars
Judo is a sport that is very popular in France. The organisers entrusted the lighting of the Olympic flame to Teddy Riner. And in the first three days, the home country won five medals from six disciplines on the mat.
Only gold is missing from that haul but the home fans believe they will get it on Tuesday thanks to Clarisse Agbegnenou. The under 63kg event is on the agenda and the Rennes native has long ruled the world in that event.
Clarisse, now 31, has five world titles to her name and won the last Olympics in Tokyo. This year, however, Laura Fazliu of Kosovo and Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard of Canada have begun to erode her sovereignty. The former managed to defeat the French icon twice in a row, while the latter stopped the champion in the quarter-finals to defend her gold at the World Championships.
In addition, the Netherlands' Joanne Van Lieshout, who became world champion in May, is also in the running. There's definitely going to be drama in the Champ de Mars Arena.
Gymnastics
Women's team all-around final
18:15 CET - Paris, Bercy Hall
The United States of America is the superpower of women's gymnastics, but at the last Olympics in Tokyo, they missed out on the chance to win a golden hat-trick in the team all-around as their biggest asset, Simone Biles, withdrew during the competition.
After a failed vault, she admitted to a mental block and loss of spatial orientation, which prevented her from performing acrobatic elements. Biles then had a difficult time testifying against coach Larry Nassar, among others. This was why she took a longer break from the sport. At last year's World Championships, however, she was back and starring - winning four golds.
In Paris, she showed her imagination on the first day of competition, especially on the vault, and accumulated a total of 59.660 points in the qualification. Biles has seven Olympic medals so far (four gold, a silver and two bronze) but she can certainly add more to her collection in Paris.
Biles makes the USA's women the main favourites for Tuesday's competition, this time with the absence of the Russian team making it less competitive. However, teams from China, Italy and Brazil will battle it out for medals too.
