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Rafael Nadal wins 43rd clay title with Rio Open triumph

Rafael Nadal wins his 43rd clay title by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 7-6 in the final of the Rio Open.

Rafael Nadal won his 43rd clay title by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 7-6 in the final of the Rio Open on Sunday.

A single break of serve was enough for Nadal to claim the first set, before the players exchanged breaks in the second, which the Spaniard took 7-3 in a tie-break.

The result means that the 2013 French Open champion is still unbeaten on clay since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo Masters final 10 months ago.

He has now won 298 of 319 matches on the surface - the best record of any player in the Open era.

Playing in his first event since losing 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 to Stanislas Wawrinka at the Australian Open, Nadal dropped just one set all week.

However, he was forced to save two match points en route to seeing off Pablo Andujar 12-10 in a final-set tie-break in the semi-finals.

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