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

Written by: on 15th February 2015
Tennis Australian Open 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: , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.