Nadal begins his Madrid pursuit

Tuesday at the Madrid Masters was exciting and full of battles. Current number one in the world, Rafael Nadal started the tournament with a battling win against the young rising star Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. But he had gone on to win with a score of 75 36 63.

"The entire match was very tough," said Nadal. "He played very aggressive. You can't get the rhythm during the whole match. His balls were coming very fast; you go behind the line and it's difficult to come back inside. When he's serving, his second serve is very fast too, so it's very difficult."

Nadal's next opponent will be fifteenth seeded Richard Gasquet who also came over a battle against Mardy Fish with a score of 67(3) 64 63.

Fourth seeded Andy Murray came through to the next round with his opponent retiring, but still had an easy 60 21 score during the match.

Also James Blake's chances of getting to the year ending Masters Cup ended, since he lost to Gilles Simon with a score of 36 61 64.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Singles - Second Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d E Gulbis (LAT) 75 36 63
[4] A Murray (GBR) d [LL] S Bolelli (ITA) 60 21 ret. (shoulder)
G Simon (FRA) d [11] J Blake (USA) 36 61 64
M Cilic (CRO) d [13] F Verdasco (ESP) 62 63
[15] R Gasquet (FRA) d M Fish (USA) 67(3) 64 63 

Singles - First Round
G Monfils (FRA) d [WC] F Fognini (ITA) 62 64 
[Q] M Granollers (ESP) d P Mathieu (FRA) 64 64
J Nieminen (FIN) d M Youzhny (RUS) 75 36 62
P Kohlschreiber (GER) d C Moya (ESP) 62 62
[Q] R Ginepri (USA) d M Llodra (FRA) 64 64
R Soderling (SWE) d [Q] F Serra (FRA) 63 64
[Q] V Hanescu (ROU) d D Tursunov (RUS) 46 62 63
F Lopez (ESP) d [WC] A Montanes (ESP) 76(4) 63

Doubles - First Round
L Arnold Ker (ARG) / D Nalbandian (ARG) d M Damm (CZE) / P Vizner (CZE) 64 64
T Berdych (CZE) / N Kiefer (GER) d G Monfils (FRA) / G Simon (FRA) 63 62
M Mirnyi (BLR) / T Robredo (ESP) d A Calleri (ARG) / D Ferrer (ESP) 63 64
M Melo (BRA) / A Sa (BRA) d [WC] S Bolelli (ITA) / A Seppi (ITA) 46 63 10-2