RAFAEL NADAL WINS BEIJING TENNIS OPENER, JOINS NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN SECOND ROUND, BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 6th October 2015

RAFAEL NADAL WINS BEIJING TENNIS OPENER, JOINS NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN SECOND ROUND, BY RICKY DIMON

epa04965354 Rafael Nadal of Spain serves against Wu Di of China during their first round match in the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China, 06 October 2015. EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG |

Nadal wins Beijing opener, joins Djokovic in second round

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic advanced to the second round of the China Open on Tuesday. Nadal took out Chinese wild card Di Wu 6-4, 6-4, while Djokovic had a much easier day at the office during a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing of Simone Bolelli.

The third-seeded Spaniard dropped serve four times, including on three occasions in the second set–all of which saw him trail 0-40. Nadal, who led by a set and a break at 6-4, 1-0, finally managed to consolidate a break by holding for the match at 5-4.

“(It) looked like the match was under control with 6-4, 1-0, but then the situation changed,” the world No. 8 reflected. “I think I played little bit too much far away from the baseline. But is true the last three games of the match I was playing better. I hit some good forehands down the line and that’s why I finished the match well and with the victory.

“(I’m) practicing well, the level of tennis going to be there sooner or later. I am working a lot to make that happen. I think I’m closer to that. I know it is obvious that I need results to confirm that, but we are almost at the end of this season and I have time to keep playing the last tournaments of the year with the chance to practice the things that I need to do for next year.”

Djokovic cruised past Bolelli in only one hour and 11 minutes, improving to 25-0 lifetime in Beijing.

“I thought I played on a very high level considering it’s my first official match after the U.S. Open,” said the world No. 1, who beat Nadal in an exhibition match last week. “Obviously in the first matches you still don’t know how you’re going to start out. It takes time for you to adjust to the conditions and so forth.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Simone Bolelli of Italy during their first round match in the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China, 06 October 2015. EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG

“I came out with a great intensity, played some of my best tennis on this court, and managed to win against a player that I thought was playing well.”

Nadal and Djokovic are joined in the last 16 by David Ferrer and Vasek Pospisil. Fresh off a title in Kuala Lumpur, Ferrer maintained his fine form with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Thomaz Bellucci. Pospisil gave himself a shot at Nadal on Wednesday by overcoming Victor Estrella Burgos 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.

Nadal and Pospisil will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they collide in round two on Wednesday. After beating Wu, the 14-time major champion is 46-15 for the season and looking for just his fourth title while also hoping to wrap up a spot at the World Tour Finals.

Tuesday was a productive day at the office for Pospisil, who also ended a five-match doubles losing streak with partner Jack Sock by overcoming Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli 7-6(5), 2-6, 11-9. In singles, the Canadian is a decent 21-20 for the year and registers at a solid 44th in the world thanks mainly to a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon.

Nadal is extremely vulnerable right now and Pospisil has the big-hitting game that can trouble Beijing’s No. 3 seed, but the underdog is 0-11 against the current top four players in the world and may lack belief against this kind of opponent.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp World Tour, Beijing, China Open tennis, David Ferrer, Di Wu, Fabio Fognini, jack sock, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Simone Bolelli, Tennis News, Vasek Pospisil

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10sBalls_com says:

October 6, 2015 at 2:16 pm

-@RafaelNadal WINS #Beijing #Tennis OPENER, JOINS @DjokerNole IN SECOND ROUND, BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/IaGbTAdcBR #ChinaOpen #Nadal
Dimonator says:

October 6, 2015 at 7:59 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@RafaelNadal WINS #Beijing #Tennis OPENER, JOINS @DjokerNole IN SECOND ROUND, BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/IaGbTAdcBR #Chi…
RaffaMiami says:

October 6, 2015 at 7:59 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@RafaelNadal WINS #Beijing #Tennis OPENER, JOINS @DjokerNole IN SECOND ROUND, BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/IaGbTAdcBR #Chi…
ElenaFoundation says:

October 8, 2015 at 2:55 am

@RafaelNadal is back on form with a win in Beijing http://t.co/8fRKq8fhlH (via @10sBalls_com)