DUBAI, March 5: Rafael Nadal had to dig himself out of trouble here on Tuesday to avoid going the way of Roger Federer, who was sensationally beaten in the first round of the Dubai Open.

Nadal was twice within a point of going a break of serve down in the second set, having lost the first, before clawing his way back to a three-set win over the improving Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The world No 2 from Spain was often not at his best during his 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 success, but, unlike Federer against Andy Murray on Monday, he found a way to win.

Kohlschreiber, the world No 27 from Germany, did most things well, and having edged his way up the rankings slowly is an underestimated player.

But Nadal did not make that mistake.

The other main front runners for the title, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick, came through with less hassle.

Djokovic, the Australian Open champion from Serbia, overcame Marin Cilic, the world No 45 from Croatia, 6-4, 6-3, and reckoned he had been more “stable and patient” on the points which mattered than his opponent.

He now plays Fabrice Santoro, the 35-year-old former champion from France, who upset Mikhail Youzhny, the world No 12 from Russia, on Monday in what is almost certainly his last tournament here.

Djokovic also proffered the surprising opinion that, based on what he had seen this year, he had expected Murray to beat Federer.

Then Andy Roddick, the sixth seeded former US Open champion who is making his first appearance in this Gulf state, started with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Juan Carlos Ferrero, the former world No 1 from Spain.

Roddick next plays Paul-Henri Mathieu, one of three Frenchmen in the last 16.

Tuesday’s results (prefix number denotes seeding):

First round: 6-Andy Roddick (US) bt Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) 6-2, 6-4; 3-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) bt Marin Cilic (Croatia) 6-4, 6-3; 2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4; Feliciano Lopez (Spain) bt Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; Olivier Rochus (Belgium) bt Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) 6-1, 6-2; Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) bt Joseph Sirianni (Australia) 6-4, 6-4; 8-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt Gael Monfils (France) 6-3, 6-2; Mikhail Ledovskikh (Russia) bt Mahmoud-Nader Al Balushi (UAE) 6-1, 6-1.

GONZALEZ ADVANCES

LAS VEGAS (Nevada): Top seed

Fernando Gonzalez fought off Dudi Sela of Israel 6-2, 7-6 to reach the second round of the Las Vegas Open on Tuesday.

World No 13 Gonzalez, who won his ninth career singles title at Vina del Mar this year, admitted the 63rd-ranked Sela made it tougher for him in the second set by playing more conservatively.

Potito Starace of Italy also advanced, defeating Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 7-6, 6-0. Qualifier Kevin Anderson of South Africa used a big serve to spring the only upset in early action on Tuesday, a 6-2, 7-6 victory over sixth seed Michael Llodra of France.

Results: