2015 Brasil Open Tennis Draws, Schedule & Live Stream: Federico Delbonis Looks to Repeat as Champion

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: Feb 10, 2015 12:19 PM EST

Tennis continues to gains popularity in South America, particularly the continental's largest country of Brazil. The biggest tennis tournament in Brazil has begun, the Brasil Open.

The Brasil Open has been played annually since 2001 in both Bahia and Sao Paulo. Although a Brazil-based tournament, a Brazilian-born player hasn't won this event since Gustavo Kuerten did so in 2004. Last year Argentina's own Federico Delbonis took home the gold over Paolo Lorenzi in a thrilling final. It's important to note that this is not just a domestic tennis event. Some of the best players in the world have competed here, such as Rafael Nadal, who won the tournament in 2005 and 2013.

Nicolás Almagro has won three Brasil Opens, the most ever.

Almagro is already off to a quick start. In his first match, Almagro successfully defeated Blaz Rola in straight sets. Almagro will play fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the second round. The Brasil Open begins with 32 seeds with each and every round consisting of a single elimination. In other words, the winner of this tournament will have successful made it past all five rounds of play without a single loss.

The defending champion, Federico Delbonis, will begin his title defense against Facundo Bagnis. Delbonis is the second ranked Argentinian tennis player in the ATP world Tennis rankings behind only Leonardo Mayer. Delbonis is ranked No. 62 in the world while Mayer is presently ranked No. 30. Mayer is also competing in this year's Brasil Open doubles tournament.

Argentina has by far the biggest showing at this year's tournament with eight players competing. Aside from Delbonis and Mayer, Juan Monaco (65), Diego Schwartzman (66), Carlos Berlocq (75), Maximo Gonzalez (100), Guido Pella and Facundo Bagnis will all be representing Argentina.

As for the host nation, Brazil has two players left competing this year. Joao Souza and Thomaz Bellucci will open their first round matches on Tuesday, Feb. 10. A key player to keep an eye on will be Pablo Cuevas. The 29-year-old Uruguayan has been making a name for himself lately. Cuevas is one of the most underrated players today, and he is currently ranked No. 32 in the world.