World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, playing for the first time since losing last month’s Australian Open final, beat fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday at the Rio Open.
Nadal skipped Buenos Aires last week due to the nagging back injury that hindered his bid for a 14th Grand Slam singles crown last month in Melbourne, where he dropped the final to Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka.
That left his comeback for Rio’s ATP and WTA event, one he hopes will launch a clay-court campaign that concludes with a ninth career French Open crown.
Photo: EPA
It was the 800th match of Nadal’s career, making him the sixth active player to reach the mark.
In improving to 670-130, Nadal joined Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Tommy Haas, David Ferrer and Nikolay Davydenko with at least 800 appearances.
Nadal connected on 57 percent of his first serves, and won 77 of his first-serve points and 65 percent of those on his second serve, surrendering only one break and breaking his 84th-ranked rival in the penultimate game to advance after 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Nadal was broken in the second game of the second set, but answered by breaking back in the third game and again in the 11th, then served out for the victory, improving to 10-0 on Brazilian soil, a run that includes titles in 2005 in Costa do Sauipe and last year in Sao Paulo.
Next up for the 27-year-old left-hander from Mallorca is another compatriot, 72nd-ranked Albert Montanes, who ousted Dutchman Robin Haase 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).
Yet another Spaniard, second seed Ferrer, could await Nadal in the final.
Ferrer launched his bid for a Rio crown by downing Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-3.
HSIEH SISTERS EXIT
In the women’s doubles, world No. 2 Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan, who had teamed up with sister Hsieh Shu-ying for the Rio Open and was looking to join longtime partner Peng Shuai of China at the top of the world rankings, exited in the first round.
The Taiwanese sisters were demolished 6-0, 6-2 by Czech Republic duo Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and Klara Zakopalova.
Hsieh Su-wei was due to face Kurumi Nara of Japan in the women’s singles yesterday.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at
RSS