Spain's Rafael Nadal (R) receives the trophy from former Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio after winning his final match against Argentina's Juan Monaco at the ATP Argentina Open in Buenos Aires Sunday. — Reuters BUENOS AIRES — Rafael Nadal won his first title in nearly nine months Sunday, beating Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-1 to win the Argentina Open.
Nadal's triumph was his first since he won a ninth French Open title at Roland Garros last June.
It was Nadal's 65th career crown on all surfaces, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the Open Era all-time list led by the 109 titles of American Jimmy Connors.
He broke out of a tie for fifth with Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras. “They have an impressive history,” Nadal said of Sampras and Borg. “That's why it is an honor to be compared to them.”
He claimed his 46th career claycourt title, second-most in the Open Era behind the 49 of Argentina's Guillermo Vilas.
Most importantly, the victory showed Nadal is headed in the right direction.
The Spaniard, who battled injury last year after his Roland Garros triumph, exited early in Qatar and fell in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in January.
He had fallen to fourth in the world after a semifinal loss to Italian Fabio Fognini in Rio de Janeiro last week, the first time he hasn't figured in the top three since August 2013.
With this win, he's projected to return to third in the world, again overtaking Britain's Andy Murray.
“I'm coming off a season that has not been easy — injuries, accidents,” said Nadal, who had to cope with wrist trouble and an appendectomy in 2014. “The beginning of this year has been a bit tricky after some time out, but little by little we have found positive feelings.”
The 28-year-old left-hander needed one hour and 26 minutes on court to notch his sixth victory over Monaco in as many meetings on clay.
But the players had to wait out a two-hour rain delay before the match, and another 55-minute delay after both held serve for 1-1 in the opening set on the still slippery court.
Safarova closes in on top 10
The Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova is banging at the door of an otherwise unchanged top 10 in Monday's WTA rankings thanks to her win in the Doha Open.
The 28-year-old jumped four places after beating Belarus' Victoria Azarenka in Qatar Saturday. She is now placed at a career-best 11th.
The list continues to be dominated by Serena Williams, leading the pack in front of Russia's Maria Sharapova and Romania's Simona Halep.
Nishikori soars to No. 4 Record-breaking Japan superstar Kei Nishikori rose to fourth in Monday's new world rankings, equaling Kimiko Date-Krumm as his country's highest-ranked tennis player.
The 24-year-old, who is the top-ranked Asian-born man ever, tweeted: “Just saw the new rankings. Very proud of another step ... #4 this week.”
Nishikori, last year's US Open runner-up, now trails only Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal after leapfrogging Britain's Andy Murray, meaning he will avoid the top three until the semifinals at the major tournaments. — Agencies
