Phelps claims 21 golds

In an unforgettable display of Olympic power, Michael Phelps won two more finals to take his historic all-time record load to 21 golds and cement his legendary status.

Phelps beat Japan's Masato Sakai by just four hundredths of a second to take the 200m butterfly and later anchored the US 4x200m freestyle relay team to victory. At 31 -- the oldest individual Olympic swimming gold medalist ever -- Phelps is still the master of the pool.

After claiming his 20th title in five Olympics -- beating old rival Chad le Clos in the process -- Phelps stood in the water striking a pose like a Roman emperor, soaking up the acclaim.

The 200m butterfly was his first world record in 2001 and he was determined to win back the Olympic title he lost to South Africa's Chad Le Clos in 2012. But Phelps said that was also the last time he would race it.

"That event is kind of like my bread and butter," Phelps said.

Nadal marches on

Despite not being 100% fit with his recent wrist problems, Spain's Rafa Nadal made short work of his second round opponent in the second round of the men's singles competition. He dispatched unseeded Italian Andrea Seppi (6-3, 6-3) with relative ease and showed some signs that the old Nadal may be on the way back with powerful aggressive tennis.

The player from Mallorca now faces stiffer opposition in the third round Nadal with the world's number 15 Gilles Simon next up for the Spaniard.

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19 year old Biles dazzles

American gymnast Simone Biles made a flying start to her bid for a record five Rio Olympic gold medals on Tuesday.

Biles, tipped as the biggest thing since Nadia Comaneci, helped the USA cruise to women's team victory by eight points over Russia, kick-starting her bid for an unprecedented five titles.

"It's everything and more than I'd hoped it to be," said the tiny Biles, 19, who has set gymnastics alight in with 10 world titles in the past three years.

"It didn't feel like the Olympics. That helped us," said the 1.45m (4ft 9ins) Texan. "It felt like one more routine and we kept calm."

Biles' life story is Hollywood material after she was adopted and raised by her grandparents from the age of three as her mother struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.

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Gasol and co. on the ropes 

For the second straight game, Spain went down on a last-second play. Brazil's Marcus Marquinhos tipped in a missed shot with five seconds left for a thrilling 66-65 victory in front of a charged-up home crowd.

Spain's Sergio Llull then missed from inside the paint at the buzzer to seal a contest that dropped the Spaniards to 0-2.

The raucous crowd appeared to unsettle Gasol, who was just 5-of-12 from the free-throw line. Spain had once talked of dethroning the USA and it entered as Group B favourites but must now struggle to simply reach the quarters.

They will try to resuscitate those flagging hopes in their next game against fellow 0-2 Nigeria.

"I trust my teammates. We don't have to be in a bad way," Spain's Rudy Fernandez said. "We have a chance to win the title if we win the next three games."

Japan shock All-Blacks

Japan upset the odds with a thrilling upset over New Zealand in their opening match of the Olympic rugby sevens Tuesday as All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams sustained a tournament-ending Achilles tendon injury.

The Brave Blossoms' shock 14-12 victory echoed Japan's famous victory over South Africa in the 15-a-side World Cup last year, the biggest shock the sport has ever seen.

"It's unbelievable, you never see a minnow team come here and beat a team supposed to be a gold medal contender," said Japan's New Zealand-born playmaker Lomano Lemeki.

There was worse news to come for New Zealand as Williams was ruled out with a partial Achilles rupture and replaced in the 12-man squad by Sione Molia. Joe Weber was also ruled out with a shoulder injury.

New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said his squad, who play unbeaten Britain in their final pool match on Wednesday, was "obviously depleted".