VTR OPEN 2013
Nadal To Return In Viña As Part Of His 'Golden Swing' Tour
Vina del Mar, Chile
by ATP Staff
|17.01.2013
© Getty ImagesRafael Nadal is set to compete in Vina del Mar next month.
Rafael Nadal will make his return to the ATP World Tour at the VTR Open, in Viña del Mar, from 4 February. He has not played at an ATP World Tour tournament in South America since 2005.
The announcement came just 48 hours after the Spaniard confirmed his participation at the Brasil Open 2013, in Sao Paulo, from 11 February. And Nadal is also a confirmed starter at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, beginning 25 February.
The former World No. 1 has not played a tour-level event since 28 June 2012, when he lost to Lukas Rosol in the Wimbledon second round.
Nadal has been suffering from tendinitis in his left knee. He was forced to miss the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and Australian Open this month due to a stomach virus.
Chilean veteran Nicolas Massu, who has received a wild card into the VTR Open, where he last played a tour-level event 12 months ago, is delighted to welcome Nadal to Viña del Mar. "It's amazing. It's an honour to have Rafa here, a player with such status. I admire him a lot, because at 26 he's already one of the greatest of all times".
"It's a real honour to receive him in Viña del Mar, the city where I grew up and was raised as a tennis player. It's amazing to have the best clay-court player of all time. It's the best tennis news for Chile in years. It would be a dream to face Nadal in Viña".
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CLAY COURT KING – Nadal has the best career match record on clay in the Open Era with a 254-19 mark (.930) and he’s 36-4 in clay finals. Here's a year-by-year look at Nadal's clay court supremacy since 2005, compiling a 227-9 match record (.962). and 35-4 mark in clay court finals on the ATP World Tour:
| Year | W-L | Clay Finals |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 23-1 | 4-0 |
| 2011 | 28-2 | 3-2 (l. to Djokovic both) |
| 2010 | 22-0 | 4-0 |
| 2009 | 23-2 | 3-1 (l. to Federer) |
| 2008 | 24-1 | 4-0 |
| 2007 | 31-1 | 5-1 (l. to Federer) |
| 2006 | 26-0 | 4-0 |
| 2005 | 50-2 | 8-0 |
Open Era Clay Court Title Leaders – Nadal is No. 3 in the Open Era clay court titles leaders list:
| Rank | Player | No. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guillermo Vilas | 45 |
| 2 | Thomas Muster | 40 |
| 3 | Rafael Nadal | 36 |
| T-4 | Bjorn Borg, Manuel Orantes | 30 |
| T-6 | Ivan Lendl, Ilie Nastase | 28 |
| 8 | Jose-Luis Clerc | 21 |
| 9 | Mats Wilander | 20 |
| T-10 | Andres Gomez, Carlos Moya | 16 |
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