Nadal restores order as Ferrer crashes out
BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal restored the balance of clay power at the Barcelona Open yesterday with a 6-4 6-2 win over Carlos Berlocq after topseeded compatriot David Ferrer was eliminated by Dmitry Tursunov.
Russian qualifier Tursunov stunned Ferrer 7-5 3-6 6-1 in a major second-round upset.
Nadal may have still been feeling the effects of his Monte Carlo final loss at the weekend to Novak Djokovic, a defeat which denied him an historic ninth consecutive title in the principality.
Seeded second for the first time ever behind Ferrer, he needed six match points to see off persistent Argentinian Berlocq, whom he had beaten on Brazilian clay two months ago.
The match was played in a swirling wind which bothered the Spaniard. “It was not very comfortable and it affected my game,” said Nadal,” who next plays Frenchman Benoit Paire, who beat Pablo Andujar 6-4 5-7 6-3.
“I don’t want to talk about being a title favourite, I’m just very happy to be playing well and into the third round. I’m not looking ahead.”
Nadal owns bragging rights in Barcelona after winning seven titles in eight editions and posting a 36-1 lifetime record at the Catalan venue.
His defeat of Berlocg was his 35th win in a row here since losing to current Davis Cup captain Alex Corretja in the 2003 second round.
He now stands 22-2 on the clay this season in which he only returned to tennis in February after seven months out with knee injuries.
Ferrer could offer little explanation on his loss as he played for the first time since a thigh injury in the Miami final against Andy Murray nearly a month ago.
“I couldn't seem to hurt him with my shots. it was a strange match mentally and physically,” said the bewildered 31year-old, known as the iron man of the game for his neversay-die retrieving.
“This was a match to forget – probably one of the worst I’ve played in recent years.
“Each year it will become more difficult for me to win the tournament,” said the fourtime finalist.
“I came back well in the second set but the third got away from me very quickly, I really wasn’t competitive.”
More than an hour after his win, the 66th-ranked Tursunov was puzzled as to how he had accomplished the upset.
“I’m not so sure, this was certainly not his best match. he’s not played a lot recently and you need time to get back into rhythm.
“I tried to keep up a fast pace and not give him any time. He certainly has the advantage over me on clay.”
Tursunov executed in style in just under two hours to spoil the pre-French Open clay debut of Ferrer.
The Russian needed only five aces in a win where he struck 30 winners and 50 unforced errors. But Ferrer showed his rustiness with a mere 15 winners and 32 miscues.
Ferrer was making his 11th consecutive Barcelona appearance to now stand 25-11 at the venue.
Tursunov moved into a third-round encounter with Brazilian 16th seed Thomaz Bellucci.
Fourth seed Nicolas Almagro joined Nadal with a win as he beat Ivan Dodig of Croatia 61 7-5. Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic made an easy start over Eduardo Roger-Vasselin of France 6-4 6-2, as the North American made up for a disappointing loss last week in the Monte Carlo second round.
Argentinian Juan Monaco, seeded seventh, crushed Australian No 1 Bernard Tomic 606-2, while Slovak 11th seed Martin Klizan beat Albert Montanes 6-3 6-4 and veteran Span- ish clay campaigner Tommy Robredo continued to find flashes of his best form in a defeat of Bulgarian young gun and 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5 6-1.
Spanish 15th seed Marcel Granollers beat Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 6-3, 6-1.
STUTTGART: Denmark’s former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki exited the WTA Stuttgart Open yesterday, losing 7-6 6-1 to Spanish clay court specialist Carla Suarez in their first round clash.
Wozniacki, seeded seven and a finalist in the tournament in 2011, had only herself to blame after letting a 3-0 lead in the first set slip away to lose in a hard fought tie-break.
However, Suarez, ranked 27th in the world to Wozniacki’s 10th, eased through the second set against a demoralised Danish opponent to seal victory on her first match point and claim the scalp of a top-10 ranked player for the sixth time in her career.
Suarez, who has yet to win a WTA event despite reaching four finals, will meet Kazakh player Yaroslava Shvedova, ranked 10 places below her, in the second round.
Fifth-seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic later enjoyed a 7-5 6-7 6-3 win over wildcard Annika Beck, but only after the German put up a tough fight in the second set.
“I still don’t feel really good on clay, but it’s getting better,” said Kvitova.
“It’s better than it was in Katowice, but I want to improve more before Madrid.
“It’s hard to keep the concentration high after the Fed Cup, but it’s always fun to play with the girls,” added Kvitova, who was part of the Czech team whose hopes of defending their Fed Cup title disappeared on Monday when they lost to Italy in the semi-finals.
Australia’s Samantha Stosur, a finalist here in 2010 en route to reaching the French Open final, crashed out in the first round as she lost in straight sets 6-4 6-4 to former world No 1 Jelena Jankovic.
In today’s second round, top seed Maria Sharapova will play Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. – Sapa-AFP