Rafael Nadal will target his first gold medal of the Rio 2016 Olympics, when he teams up with Marc Lopez in the men's doubles final against the Romania pair of Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau. Not even expected to be fit in time for the Olympics, coming away with a gold medal will be an outstanding achievement for the 14-time Grand Slam champion, who has had to deal with numerous injuries in the recent past.

Nadal did everything possible, including skipping Wimbledon, to get ready in time for the Olympics, so it will be redemption for him if he can win a gold medal in Rio with victory on Friday.

Having won the men's singles gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal suffered heartbreak just ahead of the London Games, with injury forcing him out of the world event.

However, the great man has shown the determination he is known for to fight his way into the final in the company of Lopez, with only Mergea and Tecau now standing in the former world number one's way.

Nadal is still involved in the men's singles as well, having seen off the challenge of Gilles Simon in the third round on Thursday, but the 30-year-old pulled out of the mixed doubles event, which he was scheduled to play with Garbine Muguruza, citing fatigue.

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So, all of his eggs are now in the two men's event baskets, starting with the men's doubles final.

Nadal and Lopez got into the gold medal match with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-4) victory over the Canada pairing of Vasek Pospisil and Daniel Nestor, in a match that lasted over two hours, and had the legendary left-hander in tears at the end.

Mergea and Tecau had it relatively easier in their semifinal match, beating America's Jack Sock and Steve Johnson 6-3, 7-5. So, if fatigue does become a factor, the Romanian team will have the upper hand.

The men's bronze medal match will also be played on Friday, and it should be a cracking one, considering it will be USA vs Canada.

Where to Watch Live

The men's doubles final is the final match on Centre Court on Friday. The first one is scheduled for a 12 p.m. local time (8.30 p.m. IST, 4 p.m. BST) start. The bronze medal match between Steve Johnson/Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil/Daniel Nestor is the third on Court 1.

India: TV: Star Sports and DD National. Live Streaming: Hotstar.

Spain: TV: RTVE.

Romania: TV: TVR.

Brazil: TV: SporTV, Globo, Fox Sports and ESPN.

USA: TV: NBC. Live Streaming: NBC Sports live extra, NBC Olympics and NBC Olympics app.

Canada: TV: TSN, Sportsnet and RDS. Live Streaming: TSN TV.

UK: TV: BBC. Live Streaming: BBCiPlayer.

Australia: TV: Channel 7, 7Two and 7Mate. Live Streaming: Channel 7 online.