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Qualifier proves no match for Nadal

Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan reacts during her match against Sybille Bammer of Austria at the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, on Saturday. Chan beat Bammer 6-1, 6-3. PHOTO: EPA

Rafael Nadal launched his defense of the Indian Wells ATP Masters Series title with a victory on Saturday while last year's runner-up, Novak Djokovic, also made a triumphant debut.

Nadal, the second seed, defeated Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-3, and said he was lucky to escape with relative ease in the difficult, windy conditions.

"Today I win. That's it. I can't do too much," said Nadal, and his opinion was echoed throughout the day as the blustery desert winds made life difficult for all.

Ana Ivanovic, the top seed in the WTA tier one event that is the other half of the Pacific Life Open, admitted she allowed herself to get distracted by the testing conditions.

But she pulled herself together to emerge with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 second-round victory over Romanian Ioana Raluca Olaru.

Third-seeded compatriot Jelena Jankovic, meanwhile, advanced with ease, downing US wild card Ahsha Rolle 6-0, 6-2.

Taiwan's Chan Yung-jan, ranked 67th in the world, ousted women's 11th seed Sybille Bammer 6-1, 6-3 to book a clash with Lindsay Davenport, who advanced when her Argentinian opponent Gisela Dulko retired with a thigh injury after dropping the first set 6-2.

Novak Djokovic serves to Andreas Seppi during their second-round match on Saturday at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California. PHOTO: AP

Australian Open champion Djokovic, the men's third seed, posted a scrappy 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Italian Andreas Seppi.

Djokovic's run to the final here last year helped launch a career year for the Serbian. He broke into the top 10 and won five tournaments last year, climbing to No.3 in the world, and claimed his first Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open in January.

Battling the wind as much as Seppi, Djokovic struggled at times, missing his first opportunities to close out both the first set and the match.

He had a match point against Seppi's serve in the ninth game of the second set, but the Italian held for 5-4 then broke to level at 5-5.

They traded breaks in the final two games to send the set to a tiebreaker, in which Djokovic took control early.

"I won. That's all that matters," Djokovic said, although he admitted he would have preferred to avoid some of his late mistakes.

The second-round outings marked the opening matches for the seeded players, who all had first-round byes.

Men's No.1 Roger Federer wasn't due to open his campaign until yesterday, when he faced a second-round clash with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.

Fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer advanced, downing Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-2, 6-2. Ferrer next faces South Korean Lee Hyung-taik, who rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

Eighth-seeded Richard Gasquet of France advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sweden's Robin Soderling. Gasquet took less than an hour to subdue Soderling, who had reached the finals at Rotterdam and Memphis in recent weeks.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, runner-up to Djokovic at the Australian Open, eased through with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Israel's Dudi Seli. Tsonga set up a clash with fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, a 6-1, 7-6 (9/7) winner over Italian Fabio Fognini.

The winds did little to prevent the seeded players from advancing on schedule.

Sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France moved on with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Russian Elena Vesnina.

Women's seventh seed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic was the biggest casualty, falling in the final match of the day to Australian Casey Dellacqua 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
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