Rafael Nadal wins Madrid opener
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E-mail Xinhua, May 10, 2012
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Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball to Russian Nikolay Davydenko during their first round match at the Madrid Open on May 9, 2012. |
Rafael Nadal enjoyed a comfortable debut in the Mutua Madrid with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Russian Nikolay Davydenko on Wednesday.
The number two seed never looked to be in trouble and needed less than one hour and 20 minutes to defeat Davydenko, who looked neither comfortable nor confident on court.
Speaking after the match Nadal said he was pleased with the way he had played and stressed that the Madrid competition was special for him.
"I try to be in the best condition when I am in Madrid, I got here on Thursday to prepare and I never usually arrive somewhere the Thursday before a tournament, so that shows my desire to do well," he explained.
One of the reasons Nadal got to Madrid early was to help him adapt to the blue beaten clay surface, which is being used in the tournament for the first time ever. The surface has been criticized by the majority of the players and Nadal admitted he was not happy with it either.
"It's good not to lie and to tell the truth and the truth is that conditions are different here to other clay tournaments," he said.
"If it was the end of the year, then I would say 'Ok' as I have nothing against change, indeed I always support innovation, but not at this time in the calendar," continued Nadal.
"This is a tennis tournament and we are talking about everything other than tennis. The only thing I would say is that I don't have much chance of playing at 'home' in front of fans, who always treat me fantastically. All I miss is that maybe we don't look after ourselves a bit more."
"This is a long way from being a 'clay' court," he reiterated, before adding that he would never use the slippery surface as an excuse for defeat.
"It is the same for all of us and if I lose here it will be because I was not good enough to win," he concluded.
Nadal will face fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco in the last 16 after the number 16 seed enjoyed a tough, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 win over Colombian, Alejandro Falla.
Meanwhile number five seed David Ferrer also progressed into the next round after beating Radek Stepanek 7-6 (4), 6-2.
"The court is a bit slippery. It's not a matter of criticizing it, it is a question of going out and dealing with it," he replied when asked about the playing surface being used in Madrid.
Number eight seed John Isner defeated Maran Cilic after two tiebreaks 7-6, 7-6, while Stanislas Wawrinka enjoyed 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Jurgen Melzer.
Gael Monfils plays number six seed Tomas Berdych in the last 16 after an easy win, facilitated by injury to his rivals, Igor Andreev, who had to retire after just one game of the second set through injury.
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