The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Rafael Nadal crushes Fabrice Santoro

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Rafael Nadal crushes Fabrice Santoro

DOHA: Rafael Nadal needed a little more than three-quarters of an hour to score his first victory on the 2009 ATP Tour on Tuesday, his crushing success appearing like an omen of yet further triumphs to come.

The Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion won 6-0, 6-1 against Fabrice Santoro in the first round of the Qatar Open, overwhelming the oldest man on the tour with his heavy hitting and relentless energy.

Santoro, a 36-year-old former Davis Cup hero who is playing his last, and a reduced, season was playing his first match against the mighty Nadal. He may have wished he wasn’t.

Meanwhile, Federer also progressed quickly. The winner of 13 Grand Slam titles started the new tour with an imperious 6-2, 6-2 success over Potito Starace, the world No. 71.

In another match, defending champion Andy Murray defeated Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-4.

Ivanovic survives

Ana Ivanovic survived two match points before sealing her place in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International on Wednesday.

The top-seeded Ivanovic lost her opening set tie-breaker and was twice down match point in the second set but regained her composure to overcome Italian qualifier Roberta Vinci 6-7(4), 7-5 6-1.

Amelie Mauresmo recovered from 2-5 down in the third set to beat French compatriot Julie Coin 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(11) in her longest ever tour match.

Gulbis loses

On the men’s side, Ernests Gulbis lost in the second round 6-3, 6-4 to Paul-Henri Mathieu a day after upsetting the top-seeded Novak Djokovic.

Mathieu was one of three Frenchmen advancing: No. 6-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was broken three times in the first set but recovered to beat Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 0-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(5), while Florent Serra beat Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 6-3.

The results:

At Brisbane (Brisbane International): Men: Second round: Radek Stepanek bt Michael Llodra 7-6(2), 6-3; Florent Serra bt Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 6-3; Paul-Henri Mathieu bt Ernests Gulbis 6-3, 6-4; Fernando Verdasco bt Mario Ancic 6-2, 6-3; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Jarkko Nieminen 0-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(5).

Women: Second round: Ana Ivanovic bt Roberta Vinci 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-1; Olga Govortsova bt Sesil Karatantcheva 6-0, 5-7, 7-5; Sara Errani bt Tsvetana Pironkova 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-3; Amelie Mauresmo bt Julie Coin 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(11).

At Auckland: WTA Auckland Classic: Second round: Elena Vesnina bt Nicole Vaidisova 6-4, 6-3; Shahar Peer bt Barbara Zahlavova Strycova 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Caroline Wozniacki bt Jill Craybas 6-4, 7-5; Anne Keothavong bt Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-4; Elena Dementieva bt Marina Erakovic 6-2, 6-3; Aravane Rezai bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-3; Edina Gallovits bt Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-3; Ayumi Morita bt Aleksandra Wozniak 7-5, 6-2.

At Doha: ATP Qatar Open: First round: Rafael Nadal bt Fabrice Santoro 6-0, 6-1; Roger Federer bt Potito Starace 6-2, 6-2; Andy Murray bt Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-4; Mikhail Youzhny bt Igor Andreev 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Kristof Vliegen bt Oscar Hernandez 6-1, 6-7(4), 7-6(5); Philipp Kohlschreiber bt Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-3; Arnaud Clement bt Diego Junqueira 6-1, 6-2; Alexander Peya bt Dmitry Tursunov 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. — Agencies

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