Rafael Nadal of Spain
Rafael Nadal of Spain waves to the crowd after being defeated by Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their men's singles quarter-final match at the Australian Open 2015 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 27, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter REUTERS/Thomas Peter

World No. 3 Rafael Nadal has already arrived in Brazil in his bid to defend his title at the 2015 Rio Open. Nadal reportedly flew to the South American nation on Feb. 11 to start early with his training.

Nadal, who has an incredible 318-24 win/loss record on claycourt, began his training session the morning after he arrived in Rio de Janeiro. The Spaniard shared a picture of him practising on the orange surface with the view of the majestic “Christ the Redeemer” statue situated at the top of Corcovado Mountain.

“Training in full view of Christ the Redeemer,” Nadal wrote on Facebook. “Already in Rio de Janeiro.”

According to the tournament’s official site, Nadal trained with Brazilian tennis player Carlos Eduardo Severino at the Jockey Club Brasileiro. Nadal’s uncle and coach Toni was also there to see how his protégé is preparing for the clay courts of Rio de Janeiro.

Speaking to the reporters after he arrived in Rio, Nadal said that he is ready to compete. Nadal’s last tournament was the Australian Open, where he suffered a quarterfinals slump to Tomas Berdych.

“I’m well prepared, I have trained every day to get well in the tournament,” Nadal was quoted as saying in an article by ESPN.com.br. “Winning is something that we will see later, but I’m prepared to compete.”

Nadal won the inaugural Rio Open in 2014 when he defeated Ukrainian Alexander Dogopolov, 6-3 7-6(3), in the finals. It was Nadal 62nd ATP title.

Nadal will battle familiar faces such as David Ferrer for this year’s lineup, which also includes 23 players ranked inside Association of Tennis Professionals’, or ATP, top 100 world rankings such as Tommy Robredo, Fabio Fognini, Leonardo Mayer, Pablo Cuevas, Santiago Giraldo and Martin Klizan. The women’s lineup, on the other hand, includes Sara Errani, Irina-Camelia Begu, Roberta Vinci and Madison Brengle.

The Rio Open is a combined ATP World Tour 500 and Women’s Tennis Association, or WTA, International event. It will be played on the eight clay courts of Jockey Club Brasileiro in Gavea from Feb. 16 to Feb. 22. The official draw for the tournament will take place on Valentine’s Day.

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