Nadal battles past Monaco in opening match in Buenos Aires

Spain’s Rafael Nadal defeated good friend Juan Monaco 64, 64 in his opening match at the Argentina Open and will next take on Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi in the quarterfinals.

After losing badly to Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Doha final, his first event of the new year, and then being bounced out of the Australian Open in the first round by countryman Fernando Verdasco, the world No. 5 looked to get some momentum going Thursday night in Buenos Aires.

The ninetime French Open champion, who was playing his first claycourt match of the season after two weeks of training in his hometown of Manacor, looked solid and confident against a rival who put up a surprisingly good fight over one hour and 38 minutes.

For his part, the 55thranked Monaco, runnerup in last year’s event to Nadal, did well despite not having played a tournament match since undergoing right wrist surgery in August of last year.

“It was important to win and that’s what happened. When I had to step it up at the end of both sets, I was able to play my best,” the 29yearold Nadal said in the postmatch press conference.

“It’s really humid. I had a stomach ache during the match, but (on Friday) I have a new chance to keep growing,” he added.

Asked about playing one of his closest friends on the ATP Tour, Nadal said the match was “special” because he was back in Buenos Aires, a “very nice city where I feel very welcome,” and also due to Monaco’s return to the circuit after his injury hiatus.

Nadal, who has entered a stage of his career in which his losses are more frequent and titles are hard to come by, even on the clay surface he used to dominate in unprecedented fashion, was asked about the process of building a champion.

“No one can win forever. (Those who) win a lot or separate themselves from the rest, work hard for it but they have to be born with something special. You don’t become like (Argentine soccer greats Lionel) Messi or (Diego) Maradona by just working. You learn to win by winning, like (Argentineborn Italian) volleyball coach Julio Velasco said.”

Referring to his quarterfinal match Friday against the 52ndranked Lorenzi, Nadal said he would have preferred not to have been scheduled to play in the late afternoon but was ready for the challenge.

“I don’t like playing at 4:00 p.m. with the heat and humidity, but there’s no choice because he’s playing doubles. Paolo Lorenzi is a difficult opponent who just pulled off a comeback win (over Argentine Diego Schwartzman),” Nadal said.

“He knows how to play tennis and presents problems. I’m going to try to play aggressively and try to win,” the 14time Grand Slam champion said.