Nadal Caps Off Successful Comeback With Brazil Open Title

February 18, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Rafael_Nadal_8
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg

Spain’s Rafael Nadal clinched his 37th clay-court title at the Brazil Open 2013 in Sao Paulo with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Argentina’s David Nalbandian 6-2, 6-3. It was Nadal’s first finals win since last June when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2012 French Open. He was upset at Wimbledon by Lukas Rosol and then sat out with a knee injury for the next seven months until his return last week when he advanced to the doubles finals of the  VTR Open in Vina del Mar.

“It’s very nice and important because at the end of your career what’s left are the titles, and depending on certain moments there are some titles that you appreciate very much,” said Nadal. “This one I appreciate it the most because of all the struggles I went through during the week, with some problems with my knee some days.”

The 31-year-old Nalbandian dropped to an 11-13 finals record, and was contesting his first clay-court final in nearly five years, since finishing runner-up at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco in 2008. Nadal won his first indoor clay-court tournament as he improved to a 51-22 record in tour-level finals.

 


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