Nadal extends streak, Kerber out
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RAFAEL Nadal hardly had to get his socks dirty to extend his winning streak to 16 matches.
Back to being the best player on tour over the last month, Nadal advanced from his opening match at the Italian Open yesterday when Nicolas Almagro retired in the first set with an apparent injury.
Top-ranked Angelique Kerber, meanwhile, lost her opening match at the Foro Italico in Rome to Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit 4-6, 0-6.
Kerber of Germany joined Britain’s Andy Murray, the top-ranked men’s player, on the sidelines after Murray’s loss to home favorite Fabio Fognini on Tuesday.
“Everybody knows I’m not a claycourt specialist,” Kerber said. “I was not playing good last year as well. I had a great year, but I mean, these few weeks I was not playing good. And this year it’s the same.”
Also, Olympic silver medalist Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina defeated British player Kyle Edmund 7-5, 6-4.
Nadal was leading 3-0, 15-30 when Almagro bent over toward the red clay court and grasped his left knee.
Nadal went over to Almagro’s side of the net to ask what was wrong and consoled his opponent. Almagro then got some medical attention at his chair but quickly retired from the second-round match.
“It’s difficult to see what’s going on now just after what happened,” Nadal said of his Spanish compatriot. “He felt something on the knee.”
The fourth-ranked Nadal remained on court for a practice session.
Nadal has won consecutive claycourt tournaments in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid. He’s aiming for an eighth title at the Foro Italico as he prepares for the French Open, which starts in less than two weeks.
Nadal will next face either 13th-seeded Jack Sock of the United States or Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic.
The 73rd-ranked Almagro, who had come through qualifying, is a three-time French Open quarterfinalist, losing on all three occasions to Nadal.
Also, seventh-seeded Kei Nishikori beat Spain’s David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2 and will next face del Potro.
Nishikori showed no lingering pain from the right wrist injury that prompted him to withdraw from the quarterfinals in Madrid last week.
“My wrist is OK now. I assume to be 100 percent now,” the Japanese star said.
Kerber returned to No. 1 this week despite getting eliminated early in her past two tournaments.
The German hasn’t won a title this year but was able to move up in the rankings with American Serena Williams pregnant and taking the rest of the year off.
Also, second-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech defeated Lauren Davis of the US 6-1, 6-1, and sixth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep, fresh off her title victory in Madrid, beat Laura Siegemund of Germany 6-4, 6-4.
Eighth-seeded Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine eliminated Alize Cornet of France 6-4, 7-6 (11), and 15th-seeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands beat American qualifier CiCi Bellis 6-4, 6-0.
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