Nadal Rolls Into Rio Second Round
Rafael Nadal cruised past fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the Rio Open second round.
After rolling in the opening set, the top-seed and 2014 champion broke Carreno Busta for a 2-1 lead in the second set. That break started a trend of five straight breaks between both players, but Nadal put an end to that at 5-4, serving out the set and the match.
“I think I played a fantastic first set,” said Nadal. “Then in the second, the conditions were so heavy. It was so difficult to serve, so there were a lot of breaks. I was able to survive there. It’s important not to get frustrated in that moment, when you have the advantage and then he breaks you back. I stayed calm. I had more chances to break again.
It’s a very good victory for me and I’m very happy.”
Nadal will face off with another Spaniard, Nicholas Almagro, in the second round. Almagro beat Daniel Munoz de Lanava 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in his opening round on Tuesday.
“Almagro is a very difficult opponent on every surface, but especially on clay, which is best surface,” said Nadal. “I know it’s going to be a difficult match. I will need to play at a high level to have a chance.”
A day after American John Isner was ousted, his countryman Jack Sock had a disappointing showing as Argentina’s Federico Delbonis beat him 7-5, 6-1 to book his spot in the next round. Delbonis will play Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi next.
Second-seed David Ferrer got past Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 7-6(3) to set up a second round matchup with fellow Spaniard Alberto Ramos-Vinolas.
Fifth-seed Dominic Thiem and seventh-seed Fabio Fognini also advanced to the second round in Rio with straight set victories.
