Passing through Belo Horizonte as part of a tour of Latin America, the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, 36, number 2 in the ATP ranking, beat the Norwegian Casper Ruud, 23, early this Sunday (27), by 2 to 0 (7-6 and 7-5), at Ginásio Mineirinho.
The exhibition match started around 10:30 pm on Saturday, after a game between Bruno Soares and Bob Bryan against Marcelo Melo and Rafael Matos in the doubles.
Nadal’s victory, in the early hours of the morning, thrilled the public in Minas Gerais, formed by nine thousand people in the gym reopened after three years without hosting any activity.
After the game, Nadal thanked the Brazilian public, recalled his trips to the country and promised to return soon.
“Brazil is a very important country in terms of sports. My second professional tournament I played here, on the Costa do Sauípe, I already played in São Paulo, in Rio, and now I had the opportunity to play in Belo Horizonte. It was a very special night here in BH and I hope to be able to come back other times. I hope that, once again, Brazil will be a place that will bring me a lot of luck in future tournaments”, he said.
In an interview before the game, Nadal ruled out the possibility of retiring and stated that at the end of this year he is already starting to prepare for the 2023 season on the world tour.
“When you win a Grand Slam, you don’t think about retiring,” said the tennis player.
The tour of Latin America in clashes also involves interviews and lunches with fans. “I’m going to follow the games in Latin America and then prepare myself in the best possible way for 2023”, said the tennis player. (With UOL)
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