Rafael Nadal overpowered qualifier Go Soeda 6-3, 6-2 as he began the defense of his Japan Open title in a blur of swashbuckling winners yesterday.
The top seed produced some dazzling shot-making under floodlights in Tokyo, taking the first set with a jaw-dropping backhand lob at full stretch with Japanese Soeda marooned at the net.
Nadal, sweat dripping from his purple T-shirt, kept his foot on the gas in the second and the Spaniard teed up match point with a superb running forehand down the line.
Photo: AFP
The world No. 2 swiftly ended proceedings, ripping another forehand deep into the corner to trigger a stampede as fans rushed from their seats for the chance of an autograph.
Nadal next faces big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic, who beat Japan’s Yuichi Sugita 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 in his first match since undergoing hip surgery after Wimbledon.
Nadal’s Davis Cup teammate David Ferrer powered past local hope Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-3 to reach the last 16.
Third seed Ferrer lost his only previous meeting with Nishikori at the 2008 US Open, but slammed the door quickly on the Japanese No. 1 on a chilly evening by Tokyo Bay.
Fierce pressure from 2007 Japan Open champion Ferrer took its toll on Nishikori, who dumped a simple backhand into the net from mid-court to surrender the first set.
Ferrer, who has won titles in Auckland, New Zealand, and Acapulco, Mexico, this year, wrapped up a comfortable win in 1 hour, 29 minutes with a huge forehand too hot for his opponent to handle.
Argentina’s David Nalbandian looked back to his old street-fighting best in a 6-1, 6-1 win over Czech Lukas Rosol.
The former world No. 3, fresh from helping his country knock out holders Serbia to reach the Davis Cup final, needed just 49 minutes to finish the job.
Mercilessly punching winners past a deflated Rosol, Nalbandian could afford to let three match points slip before a backhand error gave him victory.
In other first-round ties, Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis beat Pole Lukasz Kubot 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, while American Alex Bogomolov got the better of Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-4.
Bogomolov will play second seed Andy Murray or Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the last 16.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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