Two-time finalist Rafael Nadal ignored the nagging pain from a wisdom tooth to earn a solid 6-4, 6-4 win over Taylor Dent for a place in the third round of the Miami Masters.
Two-time finalist Rafael Nadal ignored the nagging pain from a wisdom tooth to earn a solid 6-4, 6-4 win over Taylor Dent for a place in the third round of the Miami Masters.
On a day when three-and-a-half hours of rain interruptions plagued a full schedule, the Spanish fourth seed was the model of efficiency with his victory in little more than an hour here Friday.
"I had my chances on the return, small ones, only a few ones," said the winner. "I converted, I had three breaks against his unbelievable serve.
"I'm happy for this victory, it's a comfortable win against a difficult opponent."
While Nadal was gliding, 2009 finalist Novak Djokovic was wondering what went wrong with his game.
The Serb went down in an upset 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-4 to inspired Belgian Olivier Rochus, now 3-1 in their series after earning only his second career win against a Top 10 player in Miami.
Djokovic, who also won the title three years ago, was unable to make a winning impression against an experienced challenger standing just 1.67 metres.
"I had played well in the first round, so I was feeling confident. But of course I never expected to win," said the Belgian.
World number two Djokovic was also eliminated early last week in Indian Wells in the fourth round by eventual champion Ivan Ljubicic.
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