Rain has wreaked havoc on the opening round at the Rio Open but most matches were still completed on Tuesday, along with a major upset on Monday. The first round was almost completed on a wild Tuesday in Rio. Here’s what happened on day two of main draw action.
Results
Busy Day for Spain
In desperate need of a title this week in Rio, Rafael Nadal go to off to a dream start on Tuesday, cruising past countryman Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-4. Nadal had a dream start to the match, breaking immediately for a 2-0 lead to start the match. However, he had done that in almost all of his matches last week in Buenos Aires, only to blow the lead. But not this time. The fourteen-time major champion secured a second break as he raced through the opening set. The second set got off to a wild start, with five consecutive breaks of serve. But it would be Nadal finally holding and securing the win in an hour and 20 minutes.
David Ferrer, who is one of two Spaniards coming off a surprise loss in Buenos Aires, got off to a solid start in Rio, defeating qualifier Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 7-6(3). Neither man was particularly strong on serve, and breaks were common. Ferrer was slightly better in the opening set, breaking Jarry twice, but they both scored a pair of breaks in the second set, which Ferrer took in a tiebreak.
There were a ton of Spaniards in action on Tuesday. Inigo Cervantes, Daniel Gimeno-Traver, and Albert Ramos-Vinolas were all victorious, the latter two via retirement. Pablo Andujar was not so lucky, as he fell victim to Buenos Aires champion Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4. Thiem broke serve three times in the hour and 35-minute victory. The man who lost to Thiem in that Buenos Aires final, Nicolas Almagro, survived a tough battle against another Spaniard, Daniel Munoz de la Nava, barely edging his countryman 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Almagro will take on Nadal in the second round.
Mixed Results for the Rest
It was a bad start for the Americans, both John Isner and Jack Sock, the fourth and sixth seeds, were both upset in the opening round. Isner was stunned in an epic three-hour 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(8) match by Guido Pella, despite having never been broken. The giant American, who pounded 31 aces and won 83 percent of his first serve points, saved three match points in the third set, before holding three of his own in the third set tiebreak, but in the end it was Pella who emerged victorious. Jack Sock was upset by Frederico Delbonis 7-5, 6-1 in his opening match. The young American was broken four times in the hour and 17-minute encounter.
The Italians were also well represented on day two in Rio. Last year’s runner-up Fabio Fognini cruised into the second round with a victory over Aljaz Bedene 7-5, 6-3. Fognini broke twice in each set in the win. Paolo Lorenzi won an all-Italian affair, edging countryman Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in two hours exactly. Lorenzi was the stronger of the two on serve, limiting his opponent to two break points, only one of which was converted.
The home fans were very disappointed to see their number one, recent Quito runner-up Thomaz Bellucci, was eliminated in a tight match with Alexandr Dolgopolov. The Ukrainian topped the Brazilian 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-2 in two and a half hours. The match was tight through two sets, but a late break in the second swing the momentum firmly to Dolgopolov, who broke serve three times in the deciding set.
In other action, Diego Schwartzman took out local Joao Souza, Santiago Giraldo defeated qualifier Gastao Elias, and Pablo Cuevas crushed Facundo Bagnis, all in straight sets.
The final match of the first round will lead the schedule tomorrow, featuring Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The second round will then get underway, headlined by David Ferrer, Dominic Thiem and Fabio Fognini.