Nadal ready for battle: "I hope to win a medal".

Rafael Nadal's schedule continues to take shape. After making it official at Wimbledon, in order to preserve his body, he confirmed that he had planned to play in Bastad in order to prepare as well as possible for the Olympic event.

Clearly as ambitious as ever, the Majorcan has made no secret of the fact that he will be going to Paris to play the leading roles: "In sporting terms, I try to play the tournaments that my body allows me to play. What I'm really looking forward to is preparing for the Olympic Games.

If all goes well, I'll be playing in the previous tournament in Sweden (Bastad). I'm really looking forward to the Olympics, it's my last chance and I hope I can win a medal."

With statements like these, there's every reason to believe that 'Rafa' is continuing to approach his very best level, and his presence at the Games is clearly likely to raise the level of competitiveness of the event even further, in both singles and doubles.