The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Nadal moves along merrily

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 03, 2006

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Nadal moves along merrily

PARIS: The biggest excitement in Rafael Nadal's latest French Open victory came when he took off his shoe.

The defending champion caused a stir when he asked a trainer to look at his right foot during a changeover, but Nadal was merely bothered by the tape, and he went on to beat Kevin Kim 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 on Friday.

Nadal moved into the third round with his 55th consecutive win on clay, extending his Open era record. Among those impressed was Kim, an American ranked 97th.

Their match was one of 10 postponed a day when rain backed up the schedule.

Blake keeps U.S. flag flying

Better weather seemed to suit No. 8 James Blake, who rallied past clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. Blake is the lone American left in the men's draw.

In a centre-court showdown between former champions, No. 10 Gaston Gaudio beat No. 24 Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 7-5, 7-6(7). Gaudio had lost five consecutive matches against Ferrero on clay.

Gaudio next plays No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko, who beat 1998 champion Carlos Moya 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.

Easy wins

Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters won easily after their second-round matches were delayed a day. No. 6 Elena Dementieva rallied in a match suspended overnight, beating Viktoriya Kutuzova 3-6, 6-0, 6-4.

In the women's section, No. 11 Venus Williams advanced to the fourth round by beating Karolina Sprem 7-5, 6-3.

Hingis, playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2001, overcame a brief lapse in the second set and beat Zuzana Ondraskova 6-1, 6-3 in 49 minutes.

"I really played very well," Hingis said. "Served well, moved well, everything. It all is coming together again. I just hope it's going to continue like that. I just want to save the best for last."

Clijsters, seeded second, beat Conchita Martinez Granados 6-0, 6-3 in 55 minutes. Clijsters' match followed a similar pattern to that of Hingis: She won the first eight games, lost three in a row and then won four straight.

Bhupathi-Malisse advance

In men's doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi and Xavier Malisse of Belgium beat Jose Acasuso and Sebastian Prieto 6-4, 6-3 to enter the third round. — Agencies

THE RESULTS

Prefix denotes seedings

Men's singles: Third round: 10-Gaston Gaudio (Arg) bt 24-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Esp) 7-5, 7-5, 7-6(7); 6-Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) bt 30-Carlos Moya (Esp) 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.

Second round: Juan Monaco (Arg) bt 28-Fernando Verdasco (Esp) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1; 15-David Ferrer (Esp) bt Jeremy Chardy (Fra) 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; 2-Rafael Nadal (Esp) bt Kevin Kim (U.S.) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4; 8-James Blake (U.S.) bt Nicolas Almagro (Esp) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

29-Paul-Henri Mathieu (Fra) bt Florent Serra (Fra) 6-0, 7-6(5), 7-6(6); 23-Tommy Haas (Ger) bt Alexander Waske (Ger) 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-4; 25-Gael Monfils (Fra) bt Dick Norman (Bel) 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-0, 7-5; 4-Ivan Ljubicic (Cro) bt Oscar Hernandez (Esp) 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-2.

Alberto Martin (Esp) bt Dieter Kindlmann (Ger) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Esp) bt Christophe Rochus (Bel) 5-2 (retd.); Novak Djokovic (SCG) bt 9-Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1.

Women's singles: Third round: 7-Patty Schnyder (Sui) bt Julia Vakulenko (Ukr) 2-6, 7-5, 6-0; 8-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt Li Na (Chn) 6-3, 7-6(4); 14-Dinara Safina (Rus) bt 24-Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) 6-3, 6-4; 9-Francesca Schiavone (Ita) bt 17-Flavia Pennetta (Ita) 4-6, 6-1, 9-7; 13-Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Ger) bt Jamea Jackson (U.S.) 6-7(8), 6-2, 6-1; 11-Venus Williams (U.S.) bt Karolina Sprem (Cro) 7-5, 6-3.

Second Round: 2-Kim Clijsters (Bel) bt Conchita Martinez Granados (Esp) 6-0, 6-3; 12-Martina Hingis (Sui) bt Zuzana Ondraskova (Cze) 6-1, 6-3; Ivana Lisjak (Cro) bt Zheng Jie (Chi) 6-4, 6-4; 26-Anabel Medina Garrigues (Esp) bt Kaia Kanepi (Est) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.

21-Nathalie Dechy (Fra) bt Catalina Castano (Col) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Shenay Perry (U.S.) bt Akiko Morigami (Jpn) 6-3, 6-0; 20-Maria Kirilenko (Rus) bt Mathilde Johansson (Fra) 6-0, 6-1.

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