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DUBAI: Rafael Nadal had to dig himself out of trouble
here Tuesday to avoid going the way of Roger Federer, who was
sensationally beaten in the first round of the Dubai Open.
Nadal was twice within a point of
going a break of serve down in the second set, having lost the
first, before clawing his way back to a three-set win over the
improving Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The world’s number two from
Spain was often not at his best during his 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 success,
but, unlike Federer against Andy Murray on Monday, he found a way to
win.
Kohlschreiber, the world’s
number 27 from Germany, did most things well, and having edged his
way up the rankings slowly is an underestimated player.
But Nadal did not make that
mistake.
“I was playing with a big
player. He’s a top 30 player and one of the toughest pros on the
tour, for sure,” he said.
“It was a difficult match. I
didn’t play my best but it’s not easy playing here, and I
didn’t come here with a great deal of confidence,” added Nadal,
referring to his surprise loss to Andrea Seppi of Italy in Rotterdam
the week before last.
“This tournament gives you the
toughest draw on the tour. But the good thing was I was one hundred
percent mentally.
“Maybe I didn’t play my best
but I was focused all the time and I was very happy with that.”
The other main front runners for
the title, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick, came through with less
hassle.
Djokovic, the Australian Open
champion from Serbia, overcame Marin Cilic, the world number 45 from
Croatia, 6-4, 6-3, and reckoned he had been more “stable and
patient” on the points which mattered than his opponent.
He now plays Fabrice Santoro, the
35-year-old former champion from France, who upset Mikhail Youzhny,
the world’s number 12 from Russia, on Monday in what is almost
certainly his last tournament here.
Djokovic also offered the
surprising opinion that based on what he had seen this year; he had
expected Murray to beat Federer.
Then Andy Roddick, the sixth
seeded former US Open champion who is making his first appearance in
this Gulf state, started with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Juan Carlos
Ferrero, the former world number one from Spain.
Roddick next plays Paul-Henri
Mathieu, one of three Frenchmen in the last 16.
--AFP
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