Nadal starts Rio defence with convincing win

Top seed downs home player Bellucci to enter second round

RIO DE JANEIRO: World number three Rafael Nadal made an impressive return to competition after an Australian Open quarter-final loss, dispatching Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 6-1 late on Tuesday at the ATP Rio Open.

Defending champion Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam winner, needed only 91 minutes to advance to a second-round matchup against Spanish compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta on Thursday.

Clay-court maestro Nadal, who seeks his sixth French Open title in a row and 10th overall on Roland Garros clay later this year, elevated his play in the second set of his first match on the surface since last June's Grand Slam final victory over Novak Djokovic.

Bellucci's third double fault of the match handed Nadal a break after five prior missed chances for a 3-2 lead, but the Brazilian broke back in the next game to level the opening set.

Top seed Nadal and 64th-ranked Bellucci exchanged breaks in the next two games before Nadal broke again for a 5-4 edge and held to take the first set after 51 minutes on a service winner.

Nadal broke to start the second set and broke again at love for a 3-0 edge, taking 14 of the first 20 points contested, and held twice for a 5-1 edge.

On Nadal's third match point of the seventh game, Bellucci hit a forehand long to surrender the break and the match, falling in the first round for the fourth time in five events this year.

 

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.