Rafael Nadal came out on top in his first competitive match since withdrawing from Roland Garros earlier this year. The Spaniard made easy work of Federico Delbonis as Nadal took the match with a 6-2, 6-1 scoreline. The 14-time Grand Slam champion advanced to the second round of the Rio Olympic Games.
Nadal settles down to take opening set
Nadal and Delbonis took Court 1 on Sunday for their third career meeting. The Spaniard was about to compete in his first match in over two months, but he displayed zero signs of shakiness against a player he had never had problems with in their previous matches. It was the Argentine who kicked the match off on his serve and was the first to get onto the scoreboard before his Spanish counterpart leveled the set despite facing a break point. Nadal followed his lengthy hold with an even longer break which took him five opportunities before finally capitalizing. Back-to-back breaks followed, bringing the score to 3-2 in the third seed's favor.
The Spanish lefty refused to be broken yet again. Nadal came out firing after the second sit down as he quickly found himself ahead 40-0 at 3-2. A hold to love set the tone for the rest of the set and the third seed soon arrived at two break points in the following game. He took advantage of the golden opportunity and earned the chance to serve for a one-set lead. Nadal held to 15 to conclude the first set action after 49 minutes of play.
Spaniard seals high-quality win in style
The third seed dropped the first game of the second set, just as he did in the opening set. However, Delbonis was unable to build off his quick hold and Nadal soon evened the set at one game apiece with a hold to 15. The Argentine attempted to apply pressure, but he was not able to sneak ahead again as Nadal routinely broke for a 2-1 edge. In spite of going down three break points in the following game, the Spaniard fought back to maintain pure control on the match. The number three seed sat up 6-2, 3-1 with everything in his favor.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion was on the path to victory, up a set and a break. However, Nadal was not satisfied and then grabbed an insurance break on his third time of asking. The Spanish lefty held to put himself within a game of the second round. Delbonis could not find his rhythm, ultimately setting up two match points for Nadal. The world number five closed out a convincing first round win in impressive fashion.
Third seed plays Seppi next
Nadal faces Andreas Seppi in the Olympic Games round two. The Spaniard-Italian matchup has played on seven previous occasions with the lefty leading their series, six wins to one. They will face each other for a spot in the third round with the winner to go on to play the winner of Simon-Sugita.