The top-ranked Spaniard, who will face Richard Gasquet, did not face a single break point against the Finn and extended his winning record at the clay-court tournament to 33 matches.

“Today was a positive start,” Nadal said. “I think I played better than what I practiced the last days, so that’s always positive.”

Gasquet defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-2, 6-1.

Nadal is 7-0 against Gasquet and beat him in the 2005 semifinals on the way to his first Monte Carlo title.

“Playing him on clay is very tough. He dropped very few sets here,” Gasquet said. “What I must do is stay relaxed and try to play without hesitation and not be afraid to go for my shots. This is all very well, but when you’re on the court, you’re confronted with reality.”

Third-seeded Andy Murray defeated Radek Stepanek 6-1, 6-4, winning his first match since the semifinals of the Australian Open.

The Scot had failed to win a set since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, going out early at Rotterdam, Indian Wells and Miami.

Murray had to wait a bit to confirm the victory against Stepanek, whose shot was called long on match point. Murray gazed at the mark, shrugging his shoulders, meaning the umpire had to come down and take a look.

The umpire confirmed it was out and Murray clenched his fist after securing the win. He’ll next face Gilles Simon of France.

Also, fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain cruised past Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-0, and No. 8 Gael Monfils of France defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 7-5, 6-2.

Ferrer broke his opponent’s serve five times, while Lopez had six double-faults.

Jurgen Melzer of Austria, Nicolas Almagro of Spain, Viktor Troicki of Serbia, Marin Cilic of Croatia and Gilles Simon of France also advanced to the third round.

Cilic was leading Pere Riba 5-2 when the Spaniard retired. He next faces 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.

Nadal remains the big favorite to clinch his 44th career title, even though he says he needs a bit more time to get his feeling back on clay. He’s coming off recent hardcourt losses to Djokovic in the finals in Indian Wells and Miami.

“I think I needed a few more days,” Nadal said. “(It) is just the first match. It wasn’t bad. I have to play a little bit more aggressive with the backhand.”

Nadal remains unbeaten on clay since losing to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the French Open two years ago. Nadal was undefeated on clay last year, winning two other Masters at Rome and Madrid, and his fifth French Open.
 
2 US teenagers to face Germany in Fed Cup playoff

In Stuttgart, Germany, the United States will play two teenagers against Germany in the Fed Cup relegation playoffs this weekend.

Captain Mary Joe Fernandez said Wednesday that 19-year-old Melanie Oudin and 18-year-old Christina McHale will play singles in the best-of-five series on indoor red clay at Porsche Arena.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands is out with a hip injury injured and Venus Williams is expected to attend but is not fit to play after a her own hip injury, Fernandez said.

Mattek-Sands, who would have been the highest-ranked American in the squad, will be replaced by Vania King. Liezel Huber completes the foursome.

“We always feel pressure playing Fed Cup. When you are on a team representing your country it’s a feeling like no other,” Fernandez said. “This is the third time (in US Fed Cup history) that we’re in this position to stay in the World Group, and the fact that we are away definitely makes it more challenging. But we play every match and do our best. Hopefully we can come out with three victories.”

No. 19-ranked Andrea Petkovic leads a German team that includes Julia Goerges, Sabine Lisicki and Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

The United States was runner-up in the last edition of the Fed Cup and has won the competition 17 times, but it could now lose its place in the top-tier World Group if it is defeated by Germany.

“They are hungry, they want to prove themselves and they are surely very patriotic,” Petkovic said of the American team.

Germany captain Barbara Rittner also warned against underestimating the Americans.

“They are still very dangerous,” Rittner said. “Oudin and McHale are two aspiring players that have nothing to lose here.”