Nadal storms into Brisbane second round

Former world No.1 Rafael Nadal enjoyed an ideal start to his first Brisbane International Tuesday, storming into the second round with a straight sets win over Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Nadal took only 74 minutes to see off Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-3 and book a second round clash with Germany’s Mischa Zverev, who earlier outclassed 17-year-old Australian qualifier Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-3.
Dolgopolov had beaten Nadal on their previous two encounters and he started well, breaking the Spaniard’s second service game.
But Nadal broke straight back then broke again to take the first set in 39 minutes.
He broke once more in the second set to the delight of the packed house at Pat Rafter Arena.
“It’s tough to play against him,” Nadal said of Dolgopolov.
“He’s able to — he plays a little bit Kamikaze, you know.
“He’s very aggressive with all the shots. It’s difficult to construct a point with him.”
Nadal, who played the last match of the day and finished just before midnight, only arrived in Brisbane from Abu Dhabi on Monday and said he was struggling to adapt to the time difference.
“Today, at two in the afternoon I was on the bed,” he said.
“I was destroyed. I’m not sure if it’s better to play earlier or not. I think for the moment, I think it’s better for me to play later.
“I played great in Abu Dhabi (where he won an exhibition tournament),” he added.
“I like the conditions there, and a lot of years I played well there. That’s always important for me.
“And here is an important event for me, because it’s the second event of the year and the first ATP event. It’s great to start the New Year with a victory in the ATP Tour.”
Earlier, fifth seed Lucas Pouille recovered from 0-5 in the first set to see off fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4) and set up a second round clash against Britain’s Kyle Edmund.
Australian wildcard Sam Groth won his first match in the ATP main draw since July when he beat France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.
US qualifier Jared Donaldson upset Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4, while Viktor Troicki of Serbia downed Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 7-5.
Argentine Diego Schwartzman upset Sam Querrey of the US 6-2, 6-4.
Murray eases to first win of 2017
Andy Murray began 2017 where he left off last year, beating Jeremy Chardy in straight sets in his season opener in Qatar on Tuesday to register his 25th consecutive victory.
The world No.1 secured a 6-0, 7-6 victory, breezing through the first set in just 20 minutes before the Frenchman rallied in the second.
“He didn’t start so well, it’s always difficult the first match of the year,” said Murray of his opponent.
“In the second set he played extremely well, he was a lot more aggressive. There was a lot of good tennis in the second set.”
The last time Murray was beaten was back in September 2016 by Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in the Davis Cup, more than 100 days ago.
During his unbeaten run he has won five consecutive titles and snatched the world’s No.1 spot from Novak Djokovic.
Murray is the No.1 seed in Doha and Djokovic, the defending Qatar Open champion, is No.2.
If matches go to form the top two players in the world will meet in a mouthwatering final on January 7.
Earlier on Tuesday, France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also progressed to the second round, but only after seeing off a determined fightback from Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov.
The world No. 12 won 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to set up a last-16 encounter with Germany’s Dustin Brown.
Tsonga, who was playing his first match in Doha since taking the Qatar Open title in 2012, breezed through the opening set in just 23 minutes and looked on course for an easy victory.
But Kuznetsov, ranked 46 in the world, struck back in the second set, breaking Tsonga’s serve in the 10th game to take the match into a deciding set, a seemingly unlikely scenario just 30 minutes earlier.
Tsonga though hit better form in the final set.
“I played pretty good in the first set, then I was waiting a little bit more in the second for the good shot,” Tsonga said.
“It was a good match. Good to win.”

Source: Arab News