World No. 3 Rafael Nadal launched his clay-court season with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Thomaz Bellucci on Tuesday night at the Rio Open presented by Claro.
Nadal struck first with a break at 2-all, but Bellucci returned the favour to level the match at 4-all. Nadal would break again one game later, consolidating to claim the first set 6-4.
A run of six straight games for the top seed saw him eventually go up 4-0 in the second set, before the Brazilian was able to hold serve. Serving down 1-5, Bellucci saved two match points before Nadal was able to clinch the victory in 91 minutes.
The Spaniard benefited from his opponent’s 31 unforced errors and struck 13 winners of his own as he advanced to the second round, where he will face compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta.
The 23-year-old Spaniard needed two hours and 27 minutes to win his opening match 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-0 over Carlos Berlocq.
Earlier, David Ferrer kicked off the evening's Spanish showcase with a 6-4, 6-2 win over countryman and qualifier Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
Ferrer extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head record over the World No. 99 to 3-0 after the 89-minute win. The 32-year-old World No. 9 will meet Thiemo De Bakker in the second round.
Another Spanish native, Nicolas Almagro, was not so lucky in his Rio opener, falling to No. 6 seed Pablo Cuevas 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 20 minutes.
With six titles each, Ferrer and Almagro have tallied the most career championships on Latin America’s Golden Swing, which includes tournaments in Argentina, Brazil (2) and Ecuador during the month of February.
In doubles, top seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares advanced with a 7-6(4), 6-4 win over Johan Brunstrom and Nicholas Monroe in 88 minutes
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