RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Current Olympic tennis champion Nicolas Massu will participate in the 2007 Brazil Open, a tournament that he also won in 2006, local media said on Thursday.

The competition, to be held on Feb. 10-18, is the only one taking place in Brazil whose title is worth points in the ranking of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). If Massu, who is the 42nd in ATP world ranking, wins again, it will be his seventh ATP title.

When the Chilean champion beat Spaniard Alberto Martin by 6-3, 6-4 in the final game last year, it had been 18 months since his last trophy. Five months before the tournament, Massu had also undergone a surgery on his knee, and Brasil Open represented his return to tennis courts.

Following the 2006 Brasil Open, Massu ranked second in two other contests: Amersfoort, in the Netherlands, and Casablanca, in Morocco. The player launched his participation in the 2007 season with the Heineken Open, in Auckland, New Zealand, in which he madeit to the eight-finals. On Monday, he had his first victory at home in 2007, for the ATP contest in Vina del Mar.

Up until Brazil Open, to be hosted in the seaside region of Costa do Sauipe, Bahia state, Massu will join the Chilean team, which will welcome Russia for the Davis Cup.

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