Nadal inspired by Ronaldo

Nadal with Brazil Open trophy Sao Paulo - Arabstoday Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal is drawing inspiration from Brazilian football great Ronaldo to maintain his successful return from injury. Nadal beat former world number three David Nalbandian 6-2, 6-3 to win the Brazil Open in Sao Paulo on Sunday, with Ronaldo watching on from the stands. It was his first title after a seven-month layoff to treat his left knee. Afterwards, the former world number revealed that Brazil's footballing son had been an inspiration in his fightback. "Ronaldo is an example to a lot of people because of all that he was able to achieve despite what he had to go through with all the knee problems in his career," Nadal said. "He is definitely an example to me. He's an example of determination and hard work," he added. The Spaniard knows that he will need time to fully recover from injury, after losing the singles and doubles final at the VTR Open in Chile last week.   "I didn't have so many problems, I never needed the surgeries," Nadal said. "But I can imagine how hard it must have been for Ronaldo with the complicated surgeries that he had to go through." Nadal will be targeting an eighth French Open title in June, but for now he wants to focus on the upcoming Mexican Open, scheduled to take place in Acapulco from February 25.