Nadal wins inaugural Rio Open
Date
2/24/2014 3:38:10 AM
(MENAFN- Kora)
The world number one has now won his last 29 matches on clay, since losing to Novak Djokovic at last year's Monte-Carlo Masters
Dolgopolov, a two-time Tour event winner, used his powerful serve to decent effect, smashing 10 aces, but the Bulgarian was hampered by a 44 per cent first-service rate
Nadal needed just one break-point opportunity in the first set, breaking Dolgopolov to love in the fourth game, before saving three break points on his own serve to go 5-2 ahead
Dolgopolov's accuracy dropped in the second set, giving Nadal a number of looks at his second serve and an early break looked to have handed the Spaniard the title-winning initiative
However, with Nadal serving for the match, Dolgopolov broke to level things at 5-5, with a tie-break needed to settle matters
Six of the 10 points contested in the shootout resulted in breaks of serve, although it was Nadal who sealed four to Dolgopolov's two and win the first staging of the ATP 500 tournament
The title win was the 62nd of Nadal's career, moving him onto seventh in the all-time list, level with Argentina's four-time grand slam winner Guillermo Vilas
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