Nadal seeks redemption in Beijing [The Nation] 05 Oct, 2016
BEIJING-Rafael Nadal barrelled through his opening match of the China Open Tuesday as he seeks to redeem his injury-blighted season with a strong run in Beijing. Nadal dropped just two games to 39th-ranked Italian Paolo Lorenzi, beating him 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 capitalise 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," he added.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 in Beijing to ensure his qualification. Until the wrist injury forced him off the court, Nadal had showed signs of a renaissance this year after his worst season as a professional in 2015 saw him plummet to his lowest ranking in a decade.But he has failed to get past the fourth round of any of the Grand Slams this year and just missed out on a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics. Murray is also targeting a strong Beijing run, which could put him in striking distance of dethroning world number one 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 quarter finals of the US Open by Japan's Kei Nishikori and missed out to 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 told reporters in Beijing.Meanwhile on the women's side, double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova -- fresh from her victory at the Wuhan Open last week -- showed little mercy for home hope Wang Yafan beating her 6-4, 6-1 to reach the round of 16. As the evening drew in, play finally got underway on the outer courts, which got a heavy watering as rain enveloped the Chinese capital for most of the day.Bad boy Kyrgios romps through Tokyo opener: Controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios stormed into the second round of the Japan Open on Tuesday, the bete noire of men's tennis overpowering American Ryan Harrison 7-5, 6-2.A thumping backhand that nibbled the edge of the line secured the crucial break for Kyrgios at the business end of the first set before the sixth seed powered through the second with the minimum of fuss. "I definitely served well," Kyrgios told reporters after setting up a clash with Czech veteran Radek Stepanek. "I guess it gets me out of a bit of trouble when I'm not feeling so great or I'm not into it that much."Second seed Gael Monfils took even less time to advance, the Frenchman pummelling Japan's Yuichi Sugita 6-3, 6-1 but Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic, seeded seventh, struggled to overcome Argentina's Federico del Bonis 7-6, 6-7, 7-6.Gilles Simon was another French winner, beating Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 while fifth-seeded Belgian David Goffin saw off Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 7-5, 6-2. In other matches, Czech Jiri Vesely ousted South Africa's Kevin Anderson in a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory as Argentine Juan Monaco beat Taylor Fritz of the United States in two tiebreak sets.Eight seed Feliciano Lopez retired with injury as the Spaniard trailed Australia's James Duckworth 6-7, 7-6, 4-2 but Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis safely negotiated his first hurdle by beating Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Japan's Kei Nishikori is favourite to win his third Japan Open title after US Open champion and Tokyo title holder Stan Wawrinka pulled out of the tournament with back trouble.
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