February 15, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
After a first round bye, top-seeded Rafael Nadal won his opener at the Brazil Open 2013 on Thursday, defeating Joao Souza 6-3, 6-4. Nadal broke the Brazilian once in each set to take the first-time meeting in 78 minutes. Yesterday, Nadal announced that he was dropping out of the doubles portion of the event in order to focus on his singles game. In the quarterfinals, Nadal will face Carlos Berlocq, who beat eighth seeded Albert Ramos 7-6(7), 6-4.
Nadal is playing the event for the second time, having triumphed on his debut in 2005 when the ATP World Tour 250 indoor clay-court tournament was held in Costa do Sauipe. The Spaniard is contesting his second event since beginning his comeback from a left knee injury.
”Today I felt good,” Nadal said. ”It’s not perfect yet, I don’t know when I’ll be at 100 percent. It was acceptable. I’m confident that as the days and weeks go by I’ll recover what’s still missing.”
Last week, Nadal reached the VTR Open final in Vina del Mar, falling to Horacio Zeballos in a close three-set battle.
