World No. 2 Rafael Nadal overcame a stuttering start before sweeping aside Richard Gasquet as he kicked off his bid for a first Masters Cup title in Shanghai yesterday.
The muscle-bound Mallorcan lost the first set but found his rhythm in the second and third, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Fellow Spaniard David Ferrer upset third seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 in the later match.
"In the beginning I was a little bit nervous. Matches here are always very difficult because you play against the best," Nadal said. "So I started the match with a few doubts but later I played more aggressively. It was important to get the break in the beginning of the second set, and I finished much better than I started."
Nadal is seeking a breakthrough win in the elite eight-man tournament after pulling out injured in 2005 and losing to Roger Federer in last year's semi-finals.
But he paid for a pedestrian opening when Gasquet, in his first Masters Cup appearance, converted the last of three break points with a pinpoint forehand to go 5-3 up in the first set before serving it out.
In a rollercoaster second set, Nadal broke, was broken but then broke again in successive games before clinching it 6-3, pumping his fists in celebration.
As the Spaniard hit his stride, Gasquet fell off the pace and he capitulated in the fifth game of the third set, hitting a forehand long on the second break point to put Nadal 3-2 up and serving.
Gasquet saved one match point at 5-3 but Nadal made no mistake on serve, converting the first of two chances with a backhand volley at the net.
"He's a fighter, he fights a lot. I missed some shots and when you miss some shots against him, the set is finished," Gasquet said. "I had to play a perfect match to win. I did the perfect first set, and after I fought. I played incredible but he has such a great forehand."
Later Ferrer broke an out-of-sorts Djokovic in the opening game and converted his second match point, winning 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 42 minutes.
Djokovic has been the revelation of the season, winning five tournaments and reaching his first Grand Slam final, but cut a frustrated figure as he dished up 41 unforced errors.
"In the first game he was a little bit nervous and maybe I used that to win the game," Ferrer said. "I played with a lot of confidence and I played really, really good tennis."
Both men are competing in their first Masters Cup, with Ferrer winning three titles on his way to a career-high sixth in the rankings.
The World No. 2 had won all three of his previous tour meetings with Gasquet, but had not faced the Frenchman in about two-and-a-half years.
The 21-year-old has landed six titles this year, including his third straight French Open crown -- the first player to do so since Bjorn Borg who took four between 1978-1981.
However he has struggled with knee tendinitis and, until last week's Paris Masters, had not reached a final since July.
Gasquet secured the last berth in the year-ending tournament by reaching the Paris semi-finals, leaping from 13th to eighth in the rankings.
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