|
|
|
| April 20, 2007 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 02, 1428 |
Nadal downs Chela to extend winning streak
MONTE CARLO, April 19: Rafael Nadal extended his record claycourt winning streak to 63 matches with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in the Monte Carlo Masters Series second round on Wednesday.
The double French Open champion, who also won in the principality in 2005 and 2006, wrapped up a straightforward win on his third match point.
Following an early exchange of breaks, the left-handed Spaniard twice stole his opponent's serve to get a grip on the contest.
Second seed Nadal broke again in the third game of the second set before going on to secure a meeting with Belgian Kristof Vliegen.
“It was very nice to come back here and play the first match like this. I felt very comfortable on court. I could have served a little bit better but for the rest I'm very happy,” Nadal told reporters.
The Spaniard added he would not take anything for granted when he takes on Vliegen for a quarter-final spot.
“It is going to be a tough match. He is a very talented player. He beat (Paul-Henri) Mathieu and (Marat) Safin,” he said.
Swede Robin Soederling caused a major upset when he beat Russian third seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.
Big-serving Soederling next meets Max Mirnyi of Belarus for a quarter-final spot.
World number four Davydenko lost the first set and was allowed back into the contest in the second when his opponent wasted two match points.
But Soederling finally emerged triumphant on his fifth match point.
Sixth seed Novak Djokovic overcame a loss of concentration to advance with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win over former French Open champion Gaston Gaudio.
The 19-year-old Serb conceded only 11 points in the first set.
Argentine Gaudio, who won at Roland Garros in 2004, took advantage of several unforced errors from Djokovic to level the match before the Serb regained his focus to open a 4-0 lead in the third set.
“I got off to a good start but in the first game of the third set I was lucky to save a break point,” Djokovic said. “Then everything was much easier for me.”
Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero looked close to his best in a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Chile's Nicolas Massu.
Russian Igor Andreev, the last player to beat Nadal on clay two years ago, saw off fourth seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Spanish fifth seed Tommy Robredo defeated France's Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-2, while Czech Tomas Berdych thrashed German Benjamin Becker 6-1, 6-2.
Frenchman Richard Gasquet, seeded 11th, breezed through with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty and will face Croatian seventh seed Ivan Ljubicic, who beat Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6, 7-6.
Spaniard David Ferrer, seeded 12th beat France's Julien Benneteau 6-1, 7-5.
Argentine David Nalbandian, seeded ninth, retired with a back injury when trailing German qualifier Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 4-1.
Wednesday’s results (prefix number denotes seeding):
Second round: 7-Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) beat Radek Stepanek (Czech
Republic) 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5); 11-Richard Gasquet (France) beat Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) 6-3, 6-2; 12-David Ferrer (Spain) beat Julien Benneteau (France) 6-1, 7-5; Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) beat 9-David Nalbandian (Argentina) 7-5, 4-1 – Nalbandian retired; Max Mirnyi (Belarus) beat Sergio Roitman (Argentina) 7-5, 6-4; 2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) 6-3, 6-1; Igor Andreev (Russia) beat 4-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3; 16-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) beat Nicolas Massu (Chile) 6-2, 6-0; 5-Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat Arnaud Clement (France) 6-3, 6-2; 10-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat Benjamin Becker
(Germany) 6-1, 6-2; Robin Soederling (Sweden) beat 3-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3; 6-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Gaston Gaudio (Argentina) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.—Reuters
|
|
|
|
