RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Rafael Nadal is taking it easy at the Rio Open, nursing a back injury and hoping it gets better. wholesale jerseys . No. 1-ranked Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver in his first-round match on Tuesday night, his first in more than three weeks after losing the Australian Open final to Stanislaw Wawrinka. Nadal was an overwhelming favourite in Australia to win his 14th Grand Slam title, but he picked up the back strain warming up and was never the same. "When one comes back from an injury in a short period of time, you can always feel a need to be cautious," he said. "I felt it (the back) a bit. But I hope things continue to improve day by day. Little by little the back will be strong again. Ill get used to the competition and the back wont keep me from playing future tournaments." The Spaniards next test is on Thursday against countryman Albert Montanes. "I had a problem from Australia," Nadal said. "I tried to work on it at home and Im back playing again. At the beginning one is a bit afraid coming back from a problem. Ive worked hard to try to come back." Nadal was sidelined for much of the 2012 season with a left knee injury. He used the Latin American clay-court circuit as his testing ground for the knee early in 2013. It went OK. He won the French and US Open. Hes at it again early in 2014 with his back, reminding some that Nadals big swings and aggressive play may be taking a toll on his 27-year-old body. Nadal said after Tuesdays match -- his 800th -- that hed played better than hed practiced. "Of course there are aspects of the game I have to improve," he said. "Its been a long time since Ive played on the surface (clay), so Its normal to return without the best feeling." cheap nfl jerseys . The 38-year-old became an unrestricted free agent in July after spending a little over a year with the Calgary Flames. cheap jerseys . -- With Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus struggling at the plate, Texas manager Ron Washington enjoyed watching a couple of home runs from two of the few players in his lineup who were hitting . After a week of waiting, the Canadiens finally found out last night when the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs would begin. "It felt more like we had a goal today, the last three practices we were just kind of sitting there waiting,” Carey Price said. “Its nice to finally have a target date" When the Canadiens start the second round on Thursday, the team will have gone nine days between games. With the exception of the Olympic hiatus, it will be their longest break of the season. "I think weve been off for long enough,” Brendan Gallagher told the media after practice Wednesday morning. “Our bodies are healed, were more than ready to go and Im sure the Bruins feel the same way. The earlier we start the better" Over the past few days members of the Boston Bruins organization discussed the longstanding rivalry between the two teams and cities. cheap jerseys from china. . "I hated Boston when I was in Montreal, and now I hate Montreal because Im in Boston." Claude Julien said. Julien spent six seasons with the Canadiens organization, three years as the head coach of their farm team the Hamilton Bulldogs, and three as head coach of the Habs. Unlike Julien, Michel Therrien wouldnt go as far as saying he “hated” his Bruins rivals. Julien and Therrien have a long history of coaching against each other dating back to their days in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. "Its not about coaches, its about two teams with a historic rivalry and their players," Therrien said prior to leaving for Boston. ' ' '
