Spain’s Sergi Bruguera began the defense of his Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD title with a straight sets victory over Fernando Meligeni on the BlackRock Tour of Champions.

In what was a repeat of last year’s final, Bruguera once again came out on top in soaring temperatures in the Algarve, Portugal, winning 7-5, 6-3 in 1 hour, 15 minutes.

“We played a much better match than the final last year, I think it was more even and much closer, so it was a good match,” said Bruguera, who defeated the Brazilian 6-1, 6-4 a year ago. “It was very tough, very hot and humid and we played very long rallies all the time. Fernando’s playing very well, he reached the final in turkey, so it was a very tough match and I was very tired at the end.”

Bruguera will face former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic in his second match in the Vale do Lobo group having lost both of their hard court meetings when the two played on the ATP tour.

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“There’s a first time for everything,” said Bruguera, who trailed their head-to-head meetings 5-4 overall when they met on tour. “Goran’s serve is huge and very difficult for me on hard courts, but I’m going to try to win and try to win another title here. It’s a nice feeling to come here as champion because the Algarve is one of the nicest places to come, not just to play tennis but to do anything. The ambience is very good, you feel very relaxed and it’s enjoyable, so you feel like you want to play tennis and you feel very good.”

Just days after it was confirmed that Rafael Nadal will take over as World No. 1 on August 18, Bruguera said he believes his countryman and fellow French Open champion is there to stay.

“He deserves to be No. 1,” said the 1993-94 Roland Garros winner. “This year, he is playing better than everyone else. I think he will stay there this year and probably for a while, one year for sure and probably more. He raised his level from a tennis perspective – mentally it’s impossible for him to raise it because he’s already top in any sense of mentality – but since I saw him at the French Open, he has jumped another level in his tennis.

“I would not have liked to have played him in Paris. I played some very good players, especially on clay like Muster, Courier, big names also, but Rafa is unbelievable. He’s never lost in Paris and no-one does this, not since Borg, so it’s very impressive.”

Meanwhile, Ivanisevic recorded a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Henri Leconte in his opening match and former World No. 1 Marcelo Rios began his quest for the Algarve title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over local favourite Joao Cunha e Silva. Britain’s Chris Wilkinson – a late replacement for the injured Thomas Muster – overcame Guillermo Vilas 6-4, 7-5.

Preview: Bruguera Set To Defend Algarve Title