The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Nadal begins with a bang

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Wednesday, Jan 07, 2009
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Nadal begins with a bang

DOHA: Rafael Nadal needed little more than three-quarters of an hour to score his first victory on the 2009 ATP World Tour, his crushing success appearing like an omen of yet further triumphs to come.

The Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion won 6-0, 6-1 against Fabrice Santoro in the first round of the Qatar Open, overwhelming the oldest man on the tour with his heavy hitting and relentless energy.

Nadal was pleased to win so quickly. “I hope to do that,” he said, unconcerned at the brevity of the match practice.

Federer cruises

Meanwhile, Federer also progressed quickly. The winner of 13 Grand Slam titles started the new tour with an imperious 6-2, 6-2 success over Potito Starace, the world No. 71.

In another match, defending champion Andy Murray defeated Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-4.

Gulbis stuns Djokovic

Meanwhile at Brisbane, top-seeded Novak Djokovic was upset in the first round of his season-opening tournament, losing in straight sets to Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis at the Brisbane International on Tuesday.

Djokovic, who started the week with a chance of replacing Roger Federer at No. 2 in the world rankings, lost 6-4, 6-4 to the 20-year-old Latvian who finished last year at No. 53.

Djokovic struggled with his serve and was broken in the fifth game. Both players dropped serve twice to open the second set before the Serb finally held, raising both arms in the air in mock triumph when he earned a game point with an ace.

However, he was in trouble again in the ninth, facing two break points at 15-40 and dropping serve when he lost a scrambling rally.

Gulbis closed out at love, sealing the win in one hour and 28 minutes with an ace, his fourth of the match.

The results: At Doha: ATP Qatar Open: First round: Rafael Nadal bt Fabrice Santoro 6-0, 6-1; Roger Federer bt Potito Starace 6-2, 6-2; Andy Murray bt Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-4; Mikhail Youzhny bt Igor Andreev 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Kristof Vliegen bt Oscar Hernandez 6-1, 6-7(4), 7-6(5); Philipp Kohlschreiber bt Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-3; Arnaud Clement bt Diego Junqueira 6-1, 6-2; Alexander Peya bt Dmitry Tursunov 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

At Brisbane: Brisbane International: Men: Second round: Robin Soderling bt Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-3; First round: Tomas Berdych bt Brydan Klein 6-0, 6-4; Florent Serra bt Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 7-6(3); Ernests Gulbis bt Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4; Paul-Henri Mathieu bt Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-3; Mario Ancic bt Amer Delic 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 7-6(6); Kei Nishikori bt Bobby Reynolds 6-3, 6-2; Michael Llodra bt Joseph Sirianni 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Agustin Calleri 6-2, 7-5.

Women: Second round: Tathiana Garbin bt Alisa Kleybanova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; Victoria Azarenka bt Jarmila Gajdosova 7-6(4), 7-5; Marion Bartoli bt Melinda Czink 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.

At Auckland: WTA Auckland Classic: First round: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova bt Kristina Barrois 6-3, 6-1; Anne Keothavong bt Mirjana Lucic 6-4, 6-2; Marina Erakovic bt Nuria Llagostera 7-5, 6-4; Ayumi Morita bt Marta Domachowska 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Elena Dementieva bt Chan Yung-jan 7-5, 6-3; Caroline Wozniacki bt Alberta Brianti 6-1, 6-0; Elena Vesnina bt Aiko Nakamura 6-1, 6-0; Carla Suarez Navarro bt Nathalie Dechy 6-4, 6-0.

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