Nadal had hurt his back during the Australian Open last month, and suffered defeat in that final to Stanislas Wawrinka.

Meanwhile unseeded Dolgopolov came into the brand new Rio Open ranked 54th in the world, and the Ukrainian struggled to keep pace and was broken early. Nadal breezed through the first set 6-3, sealing it with an ace.

But Dolgopolov fought back in the second. Here the volleying tactic works pretty well for him.

Nadal kept the upper hand, punishing a poor backhand from Dolgopolov with a strong forehand. But the underdog managed to dig deep and fight his way to a tie break. The Ukrainian continued to approach the net, but Nadal finds the gap.

Great shot. Alex shaking his head in disbelief. Finally a big serve from Rafa, and a long return, and it’s over. 6-3, 7-6. Nadal overcomes his back issues to improve his record on clay courts to an impressive 298 wins and only 21 defeats

"For sure, no, especially in an unbelievable city like Rio, a big tournament. I think today I played much better than yesterday, so happy to have this title with me. It means a lot after the final in Australia, to come back and win again a title, so I’m very happy, and just thank you very much everybody here. The crowd was fantastic, unbelievable and the organization was great." Nadal said.