The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Rafael Nadal overcomes pain and Alun Jones

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Friday, Aug 31, 2007
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Rafael Nadal overcomes pain and Alun Jones

No problems for Federer and Henin; Sania enters third round

— Photo: AP

SHEER FLUIDITY: Rafael Nadal is all grace in motion as he runs down a return in his first round match against Alun Jones on Wednesday.

NEW YORK: Rafael Nadal advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday but a knee injury could hamper his chances of dethroning top-ranked Roger Federer.

The Spaniard battled through the pain and an inspired performance by Australian Alun Jones before winning 7-5, 3-6 6-4, 6-1 in a two-hour, 45-minute affair in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Second-seeded Nadal hurt his left knee during practice three days ago and had the trainer wrap the joint after his service was broken by Jones in the third set for a 4-3 deficit.

“Maybe if I am in another tournament I would never have gone on the court today,” he told reporters.

“But the U.S. Open is a very big tournament for me. Two days ago I was much worse. Today I didn’t move much but I played, so that’s the good news.”

The 123rd-ranked Jones had 60 unforced errors in the match because he refused to take the safe route against the three-time French Open champion.

Federer eased forward in his bid for a fourth straight title by defeating Chile’s Paul Capdeville 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, setting up a third-round showdown with hard-serving American John Isner.

“I’m very happy the way I played,” said Federer, who had 45 winners and only 11 unforced errors. “I think I hit the ball well.”

Easy victory

On the women’s side, Sania Mirza defeated American Laura Granville 6-3, 7-5 in the second round on Thursday. Meanwhile, Belgian top seed Justine Henin needed just over an hour to defeat Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-0 on Wednesday at the National Tennis Center.

“I just go step by step and try to build my confidence day after day,” the 2003 champion said.Former champions Venus and Serena Williams both started slowly before hitting their stride and winning their second-round matches in straight sets.

Venus eased past Romanian Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-4, 6-2 while Serena defeated Italian Maria Elena Camerin 7-5, 6-2.

Third-seeded Jelena Jankovic and No. 5 Ana Ivanovic also advanced, moving closer to an all-Serbian match-up in the quarterfinals.

The major casualty of the day occurred on the men’s side when seventh seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile was ousted by Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 5-7, 6-4.

— Agencies

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