Rafael Nadal Comes Out on Top Again at the Argentina Open
Rafael Nadal has won the final tennis match against Juan Mónaco 6-4, 6-1 at the ATP Argentina Open held in Buenos Aires.
In June of last year, Nadal also claimed the title at the Roland Garros, beating Novak Djokovic, according to a report from Fox News Latino. It was Nadal's 46th title on clay-court and his first in Argentina, where he hadn't played since 2005.
BBC reported that his absence in the second half of 2014 was due to a wrist injury and appendicitis. He now has a total of 65 singles titles. Nadal's win in the Argentine Open puts the tennis player in third place in the world rankings, "overtaking Britain's Andy Murray, who is now fifth, with Japan's Kei Nishikori fourth," BBC wrote.
The 28-year-old Spaniard's win also puts him on the same number of titles won in clay with Mónaco's compatriot Guillermo Vilas when he played in the 1970s and 1980s, BBC added.
In the first set, Nadal broke Mónaco's serve late "to take a 1-0 lead against the 60th-ranked Argentine, then dominated the second to close out the match in 1 hour, 26 minutes," Fox News Latino reported.
A two-hour rain, however, delayed the match. After the weather interruption, Nadal did not allow a single break point in his game and proceeded to claim the "first of five service breaks in the seventh game of the first set," The Guardian noted.
"I had the hope of winning here and I prepared very well for this so it's objective achieved," the champion said, as quoted by BBC.
Following his win against Mónaco, Nadal said that it was important for tournament organizers to "maintain the tradition of clay courts on the Tour," The Guardian wrote. The Argentine Open is considering to switch tennis court surfaces, from the clay-court to a harder surface "to widen its appeal," the report added.
"Clay is a traditional surface of our sport, we need to protect that," Nadal said, as quoted by The Guardian. "Sport is bigger when you combine new and show events with traditional events. We are changing more and more tournaments from clay to hard surfaces but the hard surface is more aggressive so there are more and more injuries."
Speaking about his former injuries, Nadal said that he is doing his best in returning to his best form.
"Winning titles helps to continue working, the injuries are in the past, I have no physical problems," the Spaniard said, as quoted by The Guardian. "In terms of tennis, in the past I have been able to get back to my best level [after injury]. As you get older it gets harder but I don't see why not, I have the motivation and passion."