{"id":208,"date":"2014-02-15T19:36:03","date_gmt":"2014-02-15T19:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/?p=208"},"modified":"2014-04-01T18:44:18","modified_gmt":"2014-04-01T18:44:18","slug":"rio-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/indextemp.php\/rio-open\/","title":{"rendered":"RIO OPEN"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rio de Janeiro, 15 February 2014<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Maria<\/a>

Maria Bueno at the Rio Open<\/p><\/div>\n

Maria is at the Rio Open presented by Claro HDTV, which is a\u00a0 new event on both the ATP and the WTA calendars.<\/p>\n

It is the only combined ATP World Tour 500 and WTA\u00a0 International event in South America, with a total US$ 1.5 million in prize\u00a0 money of which US$ 1.25 million is for the men.<\/p>\n

The tournament is being held at on the eight clay courts of\u00a0 the Jockey Club Brasileiro, including a 6,200-seater Stadium, which Maria\u00a0 officially opened on Friday with a demonstration for the main sponsor Claro HDTV\u00a0 and the host sponsors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u00a0 is a beautiful setting for the tournament at the Jockey Club, \u201c Maria told the\u00a0website.<\/p>\n

\"Rio<\/a>

Rio Open stadium at the Jockey Club in Rio de Janeiro<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe organisers, IMX, have done an incredible job putting\u00a0 together an excellent venue for this exciting event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only real concern is the weather, which is apparently\u00a0 going to be very hot and humid over the next few days, which also means rain so,\u00a0 unfortunately, when the matches start on Saturday, they could be disrupted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcome to Rafa<\/h2>\n

Maria is in Rio working for TV Globo\/SporTV, host\u00a0 broadcasters of the RIO Open, as well as making special appearances for the\u00a0 organisers and sponsors.<\/p>\n

She\u00a0was to welcome Rafael Nadal when he arrived at the Corcovado Club for his first\u00a0 press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great to see him in Brazil again,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u00a0 looks so fresh and happy, even after the long flight!<\/p>\n

\"Rafa<\/a>

Rafa Nadal talks to the media<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe were a bit worried when he pulled out of Argentina\u00a0 because of a stomach complaint and we weren\u2019t sure how his back was doing after\u00a0 his injury in the final in Melbourne but he looks fine and ready to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave a good press conference to hundreds of media and\u00a0 then the two of us took off in a golf cart to take a look at the stadium court,\u00a0 which was far away. I think people were a bit surprised!\u201d<\/p>\n

The world number one is headlining the Rio Open, with David\u00a0 Ferrer as his top challenger for his first tournament back on clay and\u00a0 temperatures soaring into the 40s degrees centigrade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u00a0 were extreme conditions in Australia as well, some players had to retire. We are\u00a0 professionals and we have to adapt to the conditions\u201d, said Nadal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent some days resting at home and I hope my back injury\u00a0 is not going to be a problem to reach the final.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A lot of Media attention<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI felt the back issue for the first time when I was warming\u00a0 up for the [Australian] final. I can\u2019t predict the future, but I hope it is not\u00a0 a critical problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn’t able to play Buenos Aires and feel bad about that\u00a0 but luckily here I am in Rio, which is a new city for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Brazilian players, Thomaz Bellucci and Jo\u00e3o Souza, have\u00a0 received wild cards to play the singles main draw, while on the women\u2019s side,\u00a0 Gabriela C\u00e9 and Luisa Stefani were invited to play the singles qualifying draw.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis\u00a0 is a great opportunity for Brazilian players to be playing in front of their\u00a0 home crowd,\u201d said Maria. \u201cI wish them luck and hope they enjoy the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nadal has been successful on his previous visits to Brazil,\u00a0 winning the Costa do Sauipe in 2005 and again in Sao Paulo last year.<\/p>\n

Dreaming of Rio Olympics<\/h2>\n
\"Olympic<\/a>

Olympic Tennis Centre in Rio de Janeiro<\/p><\/div>\n

According to Maria, Rafa is planning some sight-seeing this\u00a0visit, including a visit to Maracana, the football stadium that will host the\u00a0 World Cup final.<\/p>\n

He is also thinking about returning for the Rio Olympics:\u00a0 \u201c”Two and a half years is a long time, it is difficult to predict, but my\u00a0 motivation, my idea, is to try to be competitive here in Brazil in the Olympic\u00a0 Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact I didn’t play in London is an extra motivation for\u00a0 me\u201d, said the Spaniard.<\/p>\n

“I\u00a0 competed in Beijing and won, that was a good feeling. In 2016 I hope I will be\u00a0 ready for that again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have good feelings about competing in Brazil. I have a\u00a0 great connection with the fans here. This country is very special and I hope to\u00a0 enjoy the experience.”<\/p>\n

\"Maria<\/a>

Maria Bueno announced the Rio Open at the US Open<\/p><\/div>\n

Maria believes Brazil holds a special place in Nadal\u2019s heart,\u00a0 even after all the uncertainties he has faced there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I won the tournament [at Costa do Sauipe] in Brazil in\u00a0 2005, that was the start of my success,\u201d Rafa told reporters on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to play one of the best seasons of my career,\u00a0 winning 11 titles.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year was an important one, playing in Sao Paulo after\u00a0 coming back from an important injury and a long-time not playing on the tour. To\u00a0 win in Sao Paulo gave me confidence again to compete well.\u201d<\/p>\n

In\u00a0order to host the Rio 2016 Games tennis matches, a stadium for around 10,000\u00a0 fans is being built in Barra da Tijuca.<\/p>\n

At the end of the event, the Olympic Tennis Centre will be\u00a0 part of one of the Games\u2019 main sport legacies: the Olympic Training Centre\u00a0 (OTC), which will contribute to the development of high-performance athletes and\u00a0 will enable the city to continue hosting important events on the world tennis\u00a0 tour as well as in the world circuits of other sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an important legacy for tennis in Brazil,\u201d says\u00a0 Maria. \u201cBut the biggest concern right now is over all the demonstrations that\u00a0 are giving our country a bad name and costing the economy in so many ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation is bad and the organisers at the Rio Open have\u00a0 had to really step up the security because they don\u2019t want to see anything\u00a0 happening here that could hurt the participants or the future of what we all\u00a0 hope is going to be a great event.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more visit <\/em> <\/strong> www.rioopen.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rio de Janeiro, 15 February 2014 Maria is at the Rio Open presented by Claro HDTV, which is a\u00a0 new event on both the ATP and the WTA calendars. It is the only combined ATP World Tour 500 and WTA\u00a0…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[9],"class_list":["post-208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nRIO OPEN - Maria Esther Bueno<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/indextemp.php\/rio-open\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RIO OPEN - Maria Esther Bueno\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rio de Janeiro, 15 February 2014 Maria is at the Rio Open presented by Claro HDTV, which is a\u00a0 new event on both the ATP and the WTA calendars. 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