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Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with the trophy and the Spanish flag during the ceremony after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland during their men's final at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5, 2011. REUTERS/Thi

Nadal to carry Spain flag at opening ceremony
Nadal to carry Spain flag at opening ceremony
Posted : Wednesday, 20 June 2012 09:09AM

MADRID (Reuters) - Gold medalist Rafael Nadal will carry the Spain flag at the opening ceremony for the London Games, the country's Olympic committee (COE) said on Wednesday.

The world number two, who recently won a record seventh French open title, has won 11 Grand Slam tournaments.

Nadal was the unanimous choice of the COE board and local media reported he was chosen ahead of sailing duo Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez who have a gold and a silver from the Athens and Beijing Games in the 49er class event.

The 26-year-old will be attending his third Olympic Games. Nadal competed in the doubles in Athens in 2004 and won the singles in Beijing four years ago.

World number one Novak Djokovic will carry Serbia's flag at the opening ceremony on July 27.

(Reporting by Mark Elkington, editing by Alison Wildey)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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