Djokovic, Nadal strike clay success with opening wins

**Admin** Thu Apr 19, 2012 12:55 am

Novak
Djokovic and Rafael Nadal established early-season clay superiority
after months away from the surface with the top two in the world both
advancing in opening matches on Wednesday at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Top seed Djokovic won his seventh match without a loss against Andrea
Seppi as he punished the Italian 6-1, 6-4. Nadal, playing on a recently
treated left knee, got past Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-3. The
Spanish king of clay, who last touched the surface during the December
Davis Cup finals win over Argentina, is searching for an unprecedented
eighth title at the iconic tournament sited on a cliff overlooking the
Mediterranean. Nadal improved to 40-1 in the principality, with his
only loss occurring in 2003. He lost his only match at the venue in 2003
and has now won 38 in a row. "I played a really normal match,
nothing special," said the second seed, who added: "Nothing very bad,
but nothing very good. "It was the first match on clay after a long
time, and the first match after 15 days without touching a racquet. The
important thing was that I won in straight sets." Nieminen, winner
of the Sydney title in January, broke Nadal as the Spaniard served for
victory but lost his own serve a game later to end it on a agonizing
double-fault. Nadal had gone to the court unsure of his physical
status after not playing for almost three weeks and worried over the
painful knee which forced him to skip a Miami semi-final against Andy
Murray. Djokovic had not played clay since losing a French Open semi
to Roger Federer on June 3. He missed the tournament at his Monte
Carlo home base in 2011 due to fatigue but benefited from a two-week
window between his title in Miami and the clay start to rest and prepare
well. "I was really focused first set and played it well against a
tough, quality opponent who plays good on clay. For the first official
match since Roland Garros last year, it was satisfying," said the Serb.
"I served really well when I needed to. That's encouraging for the
clay, it's good to have a couple of free points there. "But it takes
at least a week to adjust to the movement on clay, to switch the style
of the game. You have to make adjustments and be a little bit more
patient in your rallies. "With the way I played today I'm happy. I
cannot be happier for the first official match after, what, eight, nine
months. I'm looking forward to the next one." Djokovic will face off
on Thursday in the third round against Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov,
the 16th seed who beat Australian Bernard Tomic 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. "He's
a very talented player, comes up with some shots that are not really
typical," said Djokovic. "He changes the pace and is very dangerous on
clay. I need to be aware and disciplined on the court." Spain's
fifth seed David Ferrer went down in a 6-3, 6-2 surprise to Brazil's
Thomaz Bellucci while Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych beat Marin Cilic
7-6 (7-3), 6-1. Other seeded winners included Serb seventh seed
Janko Tipsarevic, who put out Spain's Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3 and
number eight Nicolas Almagro, who beat Italian Potito Starace 7-6 (7-3),
6-1.

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