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ANDY Murray shook off some early rust to beat Marcel Granollers 6-4 7-6(2) in his first match since winning Wimbledon and Rafael Nadal blazed past Canadian wildcard Jesse Levine in the second round of the Rogers Cup on Wednesday. Murray struggled to find his usual rhythm in windy conditions and had to save two set points in a mixed display that reflected some nerves and a lack of match practice.
The Scot romped through the tiebreak with some impressive shot-making to set up a third round meeting with Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis, who beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3 1-6 6-1.
“It was tricky, it is extremely windy here,” the second seed said in a courtside interview.
“I didn’t feel that I had my timing and got pushed behind the baseline.”
Nadal was more impressive in his first singles match since a shock first round defeat by Steve Darcis at Wimbledon opened the door for Murray to win the title.
The 12-times grand slam champion found Levine willing in the opening exchanges as the pair engaged in some exciting and lengthy rallies.
But Nadal, as he has demonstrated throughout his illustrious career, had all the answers and showed in his 6-2 6-0 victory that he has returned to the tour in top shape after a long absence.
“After seven weeks without playing a match, I’m very pleased,” Nadal, seeded fourth, told reporters.
“This is very tough tournament, a Masters 1000 in Montreal, on a fast court, so to be through in the third round . . . I have to be proud and happy about the way that I played.”
By contrast, his compatriot David Ferrer became the highest ranked player to fall when he was bundled out of the tournament by Alex Bogomolov Junior under the lights.
The upset came after their match was one of a number interrupted by heavy evening rain that sent the players and fans scampering for cover as daylight fell.
When the players returned just under two hours later, it was one way traffic as the Russian qualifier completed a comfortable 6-2 6-4 win over the third seed.
Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro then narrowly avoided a similar fate when he won a late night thriller against Croatia’s Ivan Dodig.
The rain delayed the start of their match until just before 10pm local time but it proved worth the wait as Del Potro came from 4-1 down in the decider to clinch it 6-4 4-6 7-5 as the clocked ticked past midnight.
Canada’s top ranked player, world number 13 Milos Raonic, overcame Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 6-4 just before the weather turned foul to ensure two locals in the last 16.
Earlier, local wildcard Vasek Pospisil had proved his upset of world number 20 John Isner on Tuesday was no fluke as he stormed to a 6-2 6-4 victory over Czech Radek Stepanek.
Pospisil, ranked 71st in the world but playing well above that lowly standing, will now face fifth seed Tomas Berdych, who wobbled at times in his match against Alexandr Dolgopolov but emerged a 6-3 6-4 winner.
Canadian teenager Filip Peliwo missed out on a dream match against Novak Djokovic, however, losing in three sets to Denis Istomin, who will instead face the Serbian world number one.
German Tommy Haas had played just 19 minutes and was trailing Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic 5-0 when he retired. Frenchman Benoit Paire, who upset Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, awaits Matosevic in the last 16.
Meanwhile, top ranked Serena Williams made a successful return to hard courts with a 6-3 6-2 thrashing of former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the second round of the Rogers Cup on Wednesday.
Williams was joined in the third round by three other high seeded players who were making their first appearances on the North American hardcourts after the season shifted from Europe.
Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli beat American Lauren Davis 6-0 6-3, fourth seed Li Na of China joined her following a 6-1 6-4 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia while fifth seeded Italian Sara Errani accounted for Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-2 7-6(2).
Williams played an aggressive and consistent match to beat Schiavone, whose attempts to serve and volley and mix up her attack had little effect on the 16-times grand slam champion.
“Usually I have a lot of nerves going out there, but in the beginning, I was so relaxed,” Williams, who won a claycourt tournament in Sweden after Wimbledon, told reporters.
“I always feel that way when I’m playing a grand slam champion. I just feel a little bit more relaxed and ready to play.”
Williams will face Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in the third round after the 13th seed beat Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 7-5 3-6 6-2.
Bartoli played as well as she did in winning Wimbledon with power hitting and never allowing Davis to grind her down.
“I never played against Lauren before,” Bartoli said.
“I think overall I did pretty well considering the amount of pressure I was under, being the Wimbledon champion and have to step on the court in a tournament where I lost first round the last two times I played.”
The Frenchwoman will face the unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia.
Li, who spent five days after Wimbledon in Munich undergoing medial checks to ensure she was not carrying any significant injuries, did not always employ the high-risk attack her coach Carlos Rodriguez is encouraging her to try out, still managed to out-hit Pavlyuchenkova.
“I was fighting a lot on the court,” said Li, who will face 16th seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, a 6-4 6-4 winner over Flavia Pennetta.
“I tried to use more serve/volley but the serve didn’t go in. I was feeling pretty good, because today I tried so many things like not only stay on baseline.”
Sixth seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic ended the hopes of Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard 6-3 6-2, while ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki was upset 5-7 7-6(0) 6-4 in nearly three hours by Romanian Sorana Cirstea.
France’s Alize Cornet also ended 11th seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko’s tournament with a 7-5 7-5 victory. – Reuters
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derick.khumalo