Nadal seeks redemption in Beijing
Print Edition
SECOND seed Rafael Nadal barrelled through his opening match at the China Open yesterday as he seeks to redeem his injury-blighted season with a strong run in Beijing.
Nadal dropped just two games to Paolo Lorenzi, beating the 39th-ranked Italian 6-1, 6-1 to reach the round of 16.
Top seed Andy Murray booked his place in the second round with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Andreas Seppi who failed to capitalize on a late surge as he double faulted twice in the final game.
Fourteen-time grand slam champion Nadal is approaching the end of his second consecutive season without a slam title since he won his first aged 19 at Roland Garros in 2005.
He has repeatedly fended off questions about his future in the sport since he was forced out of the French Open third round with a wrist injury that also saw him miss Wimbledon.
“When you get injury for two months and a half in the middle of the season (it) is tough,” Nadal said after his first round match in Beijing.
“(There) remains a little bit to finish the season. Today is an important victory. There are points to try (and win) to qualify for the World Tour Finals.”
Nadal is currently eighth on the leaderboard for the London ATP Finals — which features the year’s top eight players — and needs to pick up some points to ensure his qualification.
Murray is also targeting a deep run, which could put him in striking distance of dethroning No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
The Scot added a second Wimbledon title and Olympic gold medal to his collection, and also reached the final of the Australian and French Opens this season. But September was a month of disappointments as he was ousted in the quarterfinals of the US Open by Japan’s Kei Nishikori and missed out on a second consecutive Davis Cup win, losing to Argentina.
“What I needed after that stretch was a break. I needed some time away from the court to rest and recover, freshen up a bit, hopefully have a strong finish to the year,” Murray said.
German rising star Alexander Zverev beat world No. 10 Dominic Thiem 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. The win is the teenager’s second top-ten victory in two weeks, after he beat world No. 3 Stan Wawrinka to claim his first title in St Petersburg.
On the women’s side, double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova — fresh from her victory at the Wuhan Open last week — beat home hope Wang Yafan 6-4, 6-1 to reach the round of 16.
Dominika Cibulkova — who reached a career-high ranking of eight on Monday after reaching the Wuhan final — fell to France’s Alize Cornet 5-7, 7-5, 2-6.
Her loss means that Agnieszka Radwanska and Karolina Pliskova qualify for the eight-player WTA Finals in Singapore.
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