RAFAEL NADAL RETURNS TO RIO DE JANEIRO AS DEFENDING CHAMPION BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 15th February 2015

RAFAEL NADAL RETURNS TO RIO DE JANEIRO AS DEFENDING CHAMPION BY RICKY DIMON

epa04582691 Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Kevin Anderson of South Africa in their fourth round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 25 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 19 January until 01 February 2015. Nadal won. EPA/Filip Singer |

Rafael Nadal will make a third consecutive appearance in February’s Golden Swing in South America when he takes the court this week at the Rio Open. Nadal enters as the defending champion, having won the inaugural Rio tournament by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov in last year’s final.

Rafael Nadal of Spain plays Kevin Anderson of South Africa during the Australian Open at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, 25 January 2015. EPA/LUKAS COCH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

The third-ranked Spaniard has not played since losing to Tomas Berdych in the Australian Open quarters, so he has enjoyed the benefit of rest in addition to an early arrival in the city that will host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Nadal posted a picture of him practicing with Uncle Toni on Thursday: “Training in full view of Christ the Redeemer,” he wrote. “Already in Rio de Janeiro!!”

He may need the practice because Nadal’s top half of the draw is not easy. The No. 1 seed will open against Brazil’s own Thomaz Bellucci, will likely run into either comeback kid Nicolas Almagro or Sao Paulo finalist Pablo Cuevas in the quarters, and could meet the mercurial Fabio Fognini in the semis. That being said, Nadal should not have too much trouble advancing in a field with only one other top 15 player (David Ferrer).

“The conditions will be extreme,” the 14-time Grand Slam champion said of Rio’s heat. “Players are dangerous. The first round will be tough with any opponent. I’m feeling well physically. I don’t know if I’m ready to win here. I’m going to try to be ready for Tuesday and after that we’ll see what’s going on.”

What could eventually happen is a title match against Ferrer, who must be thrilled with his road to the weekend at the bottom of the bracket. The No. 2 seed’s section is riddled with qualifiers and wild cards. Look for Ferrer to face either Tommy Robredo or Leonardo Mayer in the last four.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Rafa, Ricky Dimon, Rio De Janeiro, Tennis, Toni Nadal

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10sBalls_com says:

February 15, 2015 at 9:13 am

-@RafaelNadal RETURNS TO #RioDeJaneiro AS DEFENDING CHAMPION BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/GlY7oJworg #Nadal #tennis @nadalnews @RafaelNadalFC
dusanVemic says:

February 15, 2015 at 5:34 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@RafaelNadal RETURNS TO #RioDeJaneiro AS DEFENDING CHAMPION BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/GlY7oJworg #Nadal #tennis @nadaln…
Dimonator says:

February 15, 2015 at 5:47 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@RafaelNadal RETURNS TO #RioDeJaneiro AS DEFENDING CHAMPION BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/GlY7oJworg #Nadal #tennis @nadaln…
ninak33 says:

February 16, 2015 at 9:34 am

RT @10sBalls_com: -@RafaelNadal RETURNS TO #RioDeJaneiro AS DEFENDING CHAMPION BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/GlY7oJworg #Nadal #tennis @nadaln…