Nadal wins Rio Open tennis

RIO DE JANEIRO: Rafael Nadal returned from a troublesome back injury to win the Rio Open on Sunday, defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Nadal´s victory comes four weeks after he lost the Australian Open, beaten in that final by underdog Stanislas Wawrinka after tweaking his back while warming up.

Nadal, who had to fend off two match points in the semifinal against Pablo Andujar, looked more comfortable in the final and improved his record on clay to 298-21, the best in the Open Era.

Dolgopolov has lost all five matches against Nadal.

The top-ranked Nadal used the Latin American clay-court swing to launch his comeback a year ago from a left knee injury. It went just fine with titles in the French and US Open.

He´ll take the same approach this season, hoping injuries don´t slow him as he looks for his 14th Grand Slam title in the French Open in three months. (AP)