Rafael Nadal barrelled through his opening match of the China Open yesterday as he seeks to redeem his injury-blighted season with a strong run in Beijing
Nadal returns to Paolo Lorenzi in Beijing yesterday. Pic/AFP
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Beijing: Rafael Nadal barrelled through his opening match of the China Open yesterday as he seeks to redeem his injury-blighted season with a strong run in Beijing.
Nadal dropped just two games to 39th-ranked Italian Paolo Lorenzi, beating him 6-1, 6-1 to reach the round of 16.
Murray cruises
Top seed Andy Murray booked his place in the second round with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Andreas Seppi who failed to capitalise on a late surge as he double faulted twice in the final game. "When you get injury for two months and a half in the middle of the season (it) is tough," Nadal said after his first round match in Beijing.
"(There) remains a little bit to finish the season. Today is an important victory. There are points to try (and win) to qualify for the World Tour Finals," he added.
Nadal is currently eighth on the leaderboard for the London ATP Finals — which features the year's top eight players — and needs to pick up some points in Beijing to ensure his qualification.
Murray is also targeting a strong Beijing run, which could put him in striking distance of dethroning World No .1. Novak Djokovic. The Scot added a second Wimbledon title and Olympic gold medal to his collection, and also reached the final of the Australian and French Opens this season.
Kvitova shows no mercy
But September was a month of disappointments as he was ousted in the quarter-finals of the US Open and missed out to a second consecutive Davis Cup win, losing to Argentina. "What I needed after that stretch was a break. I needed some time away from the court to rest and recover, freshen up a bit, hopefully have a strong finish to the year," said Murray.
Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic fired 23 aces to down Florian Mayer 6-4, 7-6 (6/1) in the first round, as German rising star Alexander Zverev beat World No. 10 Dominic Thiem 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. The win is the teenager's second victory over a top 10 player in two weeks, after he beat World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka. Meanwhile on the women's side, double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova defeated Wang Yafan 6-4, 6-1 to reach the round of 16.
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