Andy Murray Trains For Rio Olympics To Spook Rafael Nadal In Mallorca

Andy Murray is proving himself as a strong contender for Rio Olympics as the reigning champion of Wimbledon 2016. To make sure that he is as ready as he can be, he chose not to defend his Rogers Cup title and instead train at Mallorca, which is Rafael Nadal’s hometown and training ground as well. Let’s hope that the competing tennis pros are keeping their fighting face on their respective courts!

The 29-year-old player is in highest spirits after winning Wimbledon. His optimism is spilling over on his Instagram, showing that is he ready to get his tan on as well as train for the upcoming Rio Olympics on a sweet, sweet spot in Mallorca, hometown of Rafael Nadal.

He even has forced some of his team members to take artsy pictures of him training so that he can get more likes on social media before his Rio campaign starts.

He certainly knows how to ride success!

Andy Murray was super emotional after his Wimbledon victory in June, who let out a great sob after he sat down on his chair after beating the Canadian Milos Raonic in three straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), according to New York Times. This was his second Wimbledon win, and he is only the only British man to win a title in the last 80 years.

“I’m playing for something a bit different now,” he said, referring to his baby daughter, Sophia, according to New York Times. “Hopefully she’ll be proud of this one day.”

Andy Murray and Kim Sears greeted their first baby girl into the world four months ago. To make sure that he performs his best with the support of his budding family, Kim has traveled to the U.S. and other countries in Europe as Andy did his rounds of tournaments before Wimbledon.

In the earlier months, the Scottish champ looked like he couldn’t quite handle being a father with being a professional tennis player.

“He looked tired and emotionally drained” former British number one Annabel Croft said to BBC Sports. “I know he had his family over in Miami. Having had three children myself, you know that if there’s a baby in the house … your sleep is going to be a little bit disrupted. He’s probably a little bit more drained in every area and suddenly there’s a lot more to think of off the court.”

Andy Murray is mystified by his defeat to Grigor Dimitrov at the Miami Open https://t.co/eNoACjzFvh pic.twitter.com/LKu6aJXU6s

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 29, 2016

For some of his most important matches in Wimbledon, Kim brought the baby into center court, “pushing 4-month-old Sophia in a push chair,” reports the Evening Standard.

“The mother-of-one looked stunning in a pink and red patterned dress which she teamed with nude wedges and accessorised with a white handbag.”

This may be the season in which Andy Murray snags the Olympic gold medal, if not for himself, for his daughter. To not wear his body out, he has “pulled out of the Rogers Cup in order to dedicate more time to preparing for the Games in Brazil,” according to Daily Mail.

“My body needs some recovery time after reaching the latter stages of tournaments over the past few months,” Andy said to Toronto Star. “I’m sorry to my fans in Toronto but I look forward to being back in Canada next year.”

Training in Mallorca means that he will be near to Rafael Nadal, who had to pull out of both French Open and Wimbledon after pulling a tendon on his wrist. Like Andy, Rafael has also decided to skip Rogers Cup this year in hopes of healing his body and getting his mind ready for Rio Olympics.

“I hope each day to go (progress) a little bit more and arrive in Rio well prepared, although as I always say there is nothing certain in this life,” the Spaniard said according to NBC Sports. “I feel fine, working and undergoing the recovery process. The time schedule is correct, there are two and a half weeks to go before we start to compete.”

Do you think training on the same island as Andy Murray will spook Rafael Nadal?

[Photo by Ben Curtis/AP Images]