adminINDIAN WELLS. — Rafael Nadal’s Indian Wells title defence got off to a rocky start, as the world number one tennis player was forced to rally for a three-set victory over Radek Stepanek. Nadal needed nearly two and a half hours on Saturday to get past the talented Czech 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, eight double faults doing little to help his cause in the second-round clash.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, the fifth seed, fought back from a set down against another Czech, subduing Lukas Rosol 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The going was easier for four-time champion Roger Federer and fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, who is playing his first tournament since his Australian Open triumph.
Federer, the former world number one who has fallen to eighth in the world and is seeded seventh here, defeated France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 7-6 (7/5). Wawrinka, seeded third, downed Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-5 in just 63 minutes.
“It was a difficult match to start against Ivo,” said Wawrinka, who didn’t face a break point and answered nine aces from Karlovic with eight aces of his own. “It’s never easy. He’s a tough player. He doesn’t give you so much rhythm. But I’m really happy the way I was playing, the way I was aggressive on the court, and to win in straight sets was really important for me,” Nadal said Stepanek was a similarly tough opening opponent, his unpredictability making it hard to get in a groove. “What you want to find in the first (match) is rhythm, and against him every point is different.” — AFP.
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