Nole & Fed close in on Dubai Open showdown
Nadal cruises into 2nd round in Acapulco
DUBAI, Feb 27, (Agencies): Novak Djokovic, the world number one, and Roger Federer, the defending champion, moved nearer to a showdown in Saturday’s final when both raced into the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open.
Federer set the pace by getting there in only 71 minutes against Marcel Granollers, the world number 34 from Spain, with Djokovic taking just 90 minutes to get past another Spaniard, Roberto Bautista-Agut, the world number 55.
Djokovic applied constant pressure with his speedy court coverage and the weight and angles of his ground strokes, and might have won in under an hour had he not lapsed briefly in the second set, letting Bautista Agut back into it.
This enabled the man nicknamed “Bati” to launch some hard blows, come from 2-5 down, and save four match points in a 24-point ninth game before going down 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).
Federer mixed phases where he appeared to be coasting, with moments when he suddenly switched two gears to deliver stunning winners, in a 6-3, 6-4 success. He was also tactically unpredictable. Encouraged by the fast court and perhaps by his opponent’s frequent charges into the forecourt, Federer came to the net more often than usual. But he was curiously unclear about why he did not attempt this more often.
Later he explained it as an outcome of his bright new pink shoes, about which he was questioned.
Djokovic’s match confirmed the importance, even for the best player in the world, to keep his mind pinned down till the end.
Djokovic now plays Andrea Seppi, the seventh seeded Italian, whose elegance off the ground may punish any further lapses more severely.
Federer will follow Djokovic with a match against Nikolay Davydenko, the former world number three who ousted
ATP-Delray Aljazeera Sport 2 the sixth seeded Janko Tipsarevic, and followed it with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Victor Hanescu, of Romania.
Federer has a likely semi-final with Tomas Berdych, his Wimbledon conqueror of two years ago, who overcame jet-lag, an umpire’s warning, and a difficult first set against Germany’s Tobias Kamke before calling for changes to the time limit rule.
Berdych emerged relieved and disgruntled after surviving 7-5, 6-1 against the world number 90, apparently under pressure from multiple sources.
One of them was the new 25-second time rule, which reduces by five seconds the permitted pause between rallies.
Berdych plays Dmitry Tursunov of Russia but another Russian, Mikhail Youzhny, the eighth seed, was beaten.
ATP-Acapulo Aljazeera Sport 2
His conqueror was Daniel Brands, six feet five inches tall, with an imposing net game, who upset the seedings in the Gulf for the second time this year, having reached the semis in Doha.
Brands now faces Juan Martin del Potro, the fourth-seeded former US Open champion, whose 6-4, 6-4 win over Somdev Devvarman, the Indian returning after many months out with injury, received rather modest acclaim.
However his ensuing “match” with his Argentine compatriot Diego Maradona, the footballing legend who is in the country on ambassadorial duties, was received as if del Potro had scored at the Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires.
Top-seeded John Isner got past feisty Jesse Levine 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
In the second set, Isner fell behind 0-15 in the eighth and 10th games, then reeled off four straight aces in both games to hold onto his serve. But Levine won the final two games of the second set to force a decisive third set.
Levine lost serve in the first game of the third set to set Isner up for the win.
Second-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany advanced to the second round when Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands retired from their match Tuesday with an injured left ankle.
Later, fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan became the third player to retire from a first-round match, when he pulled out in the first set against 150th-ranked Ivo Karlovic of Croatia due to an injured muscle in his side.
On a breezy day with occasional light rain, the two split the first two sets. Sijsling won the first 7-5 and Haas took the second at 6-4, before the Dutchman called it quits.
The 74th-ranked Sijsling hit a return in the ninth game and crumbled to the floor with the injury. After the trainer came to the court, Sijsling went back out. Haas held onto his serve and then Sijsling was serving at 4-5 in the second set.
Frustrated at going behind 0-30, Sijsling belted three balls into the stands, hitting a spectator with one of the balls. He received a code violation warning, lost his serve which evened the score at one set apiece, and retired from the match.
Former world number one Rafael Nadal began his quest for a 38th claycourt title, dominating Diego Sebastian Schwartzman 6-2, 6-2 in his openinground match at the ATP Tour’s Acapulco event Tuesday.
Nadal, who recently returned to the court after a seven-month injury layoff, needed just 68 minutes to oust Schwartzman, who at 20 was the youngest player in the men’s draw.
The 11-time Grand Slam champion Nadal advances to the second round where he will face his second consecutive Argentinean qualifier, 27-year-old Martin Alund.
Nadal improved to 34-1 on clay against players ranked outside the top 100 as he makes his first appearance in Acapulco since claiming the title eight years ago. Schwartzman is ranked 157th in the world.
Nadal was greeted by loud cheers from the sold-out crowd. “Playing in a stadium like this, with all seats occupied is an honour,” he said. “I will fight even harder to move forward.”
Nadal was off for seven months with persistent knee problems and has been testing his fitness in clay tournaments this month before he switches to hardcourt events.
He finished with two aces and one double fault and won 70 percent of his first-serve points.
Top seed and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki crashed out of the BMW Malaysian Open in the first round Wednesday when she was beaten by qualifier Wang Qiang.
The Dane, who was feeling unwell after suffering a high temperature on Tuesday, hardly chased Wang’s returns in the closing stages of the match and lost 26, 7-6 (7-1), 6-1.