After defeating Pablo Andujar in a nail-bitingly exciting semifinal, Rafael Nadal is in the Rio Open final. His opponent is Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, who defeated David Ferrer earlier in the day to reach the final.
Date: Sunday, February 23, 2014
START TIME: NOT BEFORE 5 pm local time (Brazil), 9 pm CET (Spain), 8 pm GMT (United Kingdom), 3 pm EST (New York, USA). To convert to your local time, use this website.
Watch Online: Fromsport and ATDHE.
Rafa and Dolgopolov have met four times, with Rafa defeating the Ukrainian in all four meetings. Their last match was at the Shanghai Masters in 2013. Rafa is attempting to win his 62nd career title, and his first on clay this season.
Route to Final:
Rafael Nadal
- First Round: 6-3, 7-5 v Daniel Gimeno-Traver
- Second Round: 6-1, 6-2 v Albert Montanes
- Quarter-finals: 6-1, 6-0 v Joao Sousa
- Semi-final: 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(10)
Alexandr Dolgopolov
- First Round: 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 v Nicolas Almagro
- Second Round: 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-6(4) v Facundo Bagnis
- Quarter-finals: 6-1, 6-1 v Fabio Fognini
- Semi-final: 6-4, 6-4 v David Ferrer
ATP World Tour, Grand Slam, and Davis Cup Main Draw Results
| Year | Tournament & City | Surface | Round | Winner & Score |
| 2013 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai Shanghai, China |
Hard | R32 | Nadal, Rafael 6-3, 6-2 Stats |
| 2012 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells CA, U.S.A. |
Hard | R16 | Nadal, Rafael 6-3, 6-2 Stats |
| 2011 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami FL, U.S.A. |
Hard | R16 | Nadal, Rafael 6-1, 6-2 Stats |
| 2010 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Spain |
Clay | R32 | Nadal, Rafael 6-4, 6-3 Stats |
VAMOS RAFA! The best of luck to you!
Can you see that with this loss Rafa’s wins are a fluke, and he is “IRRELEVANT?”