A full slate of matches were on tap on Tuesday at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid in Spain, as World No. 1 Rafael Nadal (pictured) survived an early round scare, while No. 4 Andy Murray and No. 15 Richard Gasquet also each walked way victorious but in an easier fashion. American James Blake, who hasn’t played since the US Open, was not so lucky in his second round match, losing in a close three set match.Nadal, who hadn’t played an ATP tournament since losing in the semifinals at the US Open in September, survived 15 aces by opponent Ernests Gulbis of Latvia to win, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. The 22-year-old four-time defending Roland Garros champion was able to break serve twice, while his 20-year-old opponent only broke once, despite having a break chance in the beginning of the third set.
“The entire match was very tough,” said Nadal. “He played very aggressive. You can't get the rhythm during the whole match. His balls were coming very fast; you go behind the line and it's difficult to come back inside. When he's serving, his second serve is very fast too, so it's very difficult.”
Nadal improves to 78-9 on the season with his win today and now owns an 11-4 career record in six Madrid appearances. Gulbis, who now falls to 0-2 against Nadal, also drops to 22-21 on the season. Nadal will next clash with No. 15 Gasquet, who defeated the unseeded Fish, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.
In the two hour and 31 minute match, Fish smashed 23 aces past the Frenchman, but it was Gasquet who was able to win 84 percent of first serve points and break serve three times, while the American didn’t convert on any of his four break point opportunities. Currently ranked No. 25 in the South African Airways ATP Ranking, Fish has seen very limited time on the court since the US Open and his September 28th wedding in Beverly Hills. His only match before arriving in Madrid since the US Open was a David Cup doubles victory in Spain with partner Mike Bryan. Gasquet advances to the third round in Madrid for the first time in three appearances at this event. Gasquet, who previously beat Fish at this year’s Wimbledon in their only other meeting, improves to 31-20 on the season. Gasquet will look to end a five-match losing streak to Nadal, in which four of the five matches went the distance, mostly recently at the Masters Series Canada in Toronto in July.
No. 4 Murray, who got British tennis fans excited about his tennis future after a run to the finals of the US Open, was beating lucky loser Simone Bolelli of Italy, 6-0, 2-1, when the Italian withdrew with a shoulder injury. In a close to perfect first set, the Scotland native dropped only one point on his serve and four points overall in the shortened match. Murray also smashed seven aces before Bolelli’s injury occurred. Withdrawing from his match against Murray was a tough way for Bolelli to finish his campaign in Madrid, after getting a free pass into the main draw after Marat Safin withdrew before the start of the tournament with an injury.
“I've been playing really, really well in practice in the last few weeks, better than I was playing throughout the summer, I was hitting the ball much better,” said Murray. “I had a few nerves and the conditions are tough here. I was really happy with the way I served and moved.”
Croatian rising star Marin Cilic, who won the Pilot Pen Tennis title in late August in New Haven, will meet Murray for a place in the quarterfinals. Cilic defeated No. 13 Fernando Verdasco, 6-2, 6-3, which could ultimately cost the Spaniard a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.
No. 11 Blake was shown the exit from the Madrid event by in-form Frenchman Gilles Simon, losing in three sets, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Both players served over 70 percent on their first serve points, but it was Simon who broke three times, while the Florida based American only broke once on ten chances. This was a very crucial match for both players, as Blake stands at No. 9 in the ATP 2008 Race points for a spot in Shanghai, while Simon entered this week’s standings at No. 12. Blake drops to 43-22 on the year and needs to go deep at the Masters Series Paris in two weeks if he wants any chance to go to Shanghai. Simon, who won titles earlier this year in Bucharest, Casablanca and Indianapolis, next plays either No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia or American Robby Ginepri.
Other Winners on Tuesday in Madrid:
First Round
Gael Monfils (FRA) def. Fabio Fognini (ITA), 6-2, 6-4
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) def. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS), 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) def. Carlos Moya (ESP), 6-2, 6-2
(Q) Robby Ginepri (USA) def. Michael Llodra (FRA), 6-4, 6-4
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) def. (WC) Albert Montanes (ESP), 7-6(4), 6-3
Robin Soderling (SWE) def. (Q) Florent Serra (FRA), 6-3, 6-4
(Q) Marcel Granollers (ESP) def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA), 6-4, 6-4
(Q) Victor Hanescu (ROU) def. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
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