BEIJING: Rafael Nadal made an emphatic return to singles competition yesterday after being sidelined for three months, sweeping aside Richard Gasquet of France in the $5.4m China Open.
The 14-time Grand Slam winner won his first round match in Beijing 6-4, 6-0, overcoming sporadic resistance in the first set before crushing his 22nd-ranked opponent in the second.
There were glimpses of vintage Nadal during the second set demolition, with the Spaniard appearing to be back to his athletic best after being sidelined since Wimbledon with a wrist injury picked up in training.
The world number three broke his 28-year-old opponent’s serve in the third game, and while Gasquet brought Nadal to break-point at the next two opportunities, he failed to claw his way back into the set. Gasquet lost his serve at the opening game of the second set, and then brought Nadal to the brink of losing his own with some acrobatic netplay.
But that turned out to be his last show of defiance as the French Open champion powered his way to a “bagel” in his return to singles competition.
The left-handed Mallorcan played a rare doubles match in Beijing on Monday, which he lost.
Nadal joins top seed Novak Djokovic in the second round after the reigning champion in Beijing won his game after a shaky start. The Serb defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-2, 6-1 in just 63 minutes, but took a while to get into his stride, trading a series of serves with his opponent early on.
Djokovic will face Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the next round as he bids for his fifth title in Beijing, a tournament he has won every year since 2009, apart from 2011 when he did not take part.
The winner that year, world number six Tomas Berdych, eased past Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-2 in his first round match.
The third seed Czech is chasing points as he pushes to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in November. He is currently in eighth position in the race for the London tournament and must at least remain in that position if he is to make the season finale of the top eight players. Only five berths are available as the world’s top three players -- Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer -- have already confirmed their place for London.
In the women’s tournament, Sharapova was facing a potential banana skin in her match with Elina Svitolina. The Russian world number four in the end powered through with a 6-2, 6-2 scoreline. The French Open champion will play her third-round match against either 14th seed Italian Flavia Pennetta or Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.AFP
