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Rafael Nadal picked up his second trophy of the season as he won the inaugural Rio Open with victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov

Nadal victorious in Rio


 

Originally published on 24/02/14

The world No.1 claimed the 62nd title of his career to move level with Guillermo Vilas in seventh, just two trophies behind Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras in the Open era list.

Nadal, who saved two match points to defeat fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the semi-finals, needed a second-set tiebreak to defeat Dolgopolov 6-3 7-6(3).

"Always when you win a title, it’s special," said Nadal. "In a 500 tournament, you don’t have a chance to play a lot of these in the calendar. The first edition of a big tournament like Rio, it’s a very important city in the world, and after coming back from injury, it always makes the victory a little more special."Š—劗å

Nadal is undefeated in Brazil, having won titles in Costa do Sauipe in 2005 and in Sao Paolo last year.

Meanwhile, Marin Cilic outlasted Kevin Anderson 7-6(6) 6-7(7) 6-4 to win the Delray Beatch Open, while in Marseille Ernests Gulbis defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(5) 6-4 to win the Open 13 title.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.