BASTAD, Sweden, 6 July 2005 — French Open champion Rafael Nadal outclassed Argentine Juan Monaco 6-1, 6-1 in his first round Swedish Open match yesterday to set up an all-Spanish clash against Alberto Martin.
Making his third consecutive appearance on the claycourts where he seduced the crowds two years ago as a 17-year-old, top seed Nadal did not disappoint as the title favorite, ruthlessly disposing of Monaco, his doubles partner at the tournament. Nadal’s compatriot fifth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 French Open winner, found his rhythm after a shaky start and beat Czech qualifier Lukas Dlouhy 6-4, 6-1.
Argentine Mariano Zabaleta, the two-time defending champion, shook off the rust from a 2-1/2 month injury absence to defeat Dutchman Raemon Sluiter 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 and now faces fourth seed Carlos Moya, the 2002 champion.
Russian Davis Cup Hopes Take a Double Knock
In Gstaad, Switzerland, top seed Nikolay Davydenko gave up yesterday with a wrist injury in the first round of the 421,250-euro Swiss Open, to leave Russian Davis Cup hopes foundering with Marat Safin now missing from the team.
World No. 7 Davydenko, suffering a recurrence of the problem which forced him to quit a Wimbledon second round match, handed over a 1-6, 0-1 win to Armenian journeyman Sargis Sargsian.
While the top seed was losing, No. Argentine Gaston Gaudio motored past Swiss veteran George Bastl 7-5, 6-2.
Fifth seed Ivan Ljubicic advanced over Brazil’s Ricardo Mello 6-3, 6-2, but Italian Potito Starace upset two-time champion Jiri Novak, the sixth seed, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5. Seventh-seeded Chilean Nicolas Massu, injured over the spring, defeated Tomas Behrend 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3). A second German fell as former Australian Open finalist Rainer Schuettler lost to Italy’s Davide Sanguinetti 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-3.
Andreas Seppi added another Italian win, requiring three tie-breaks to battle past Austrian Stefan Koubek 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6). Romanian qualifier Razvan Sabau defeated Swiss Michael Lammer 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 while Czech Jan Hernych advanced over Hugo Armando of the United States 7-5, 6-3.
