Nadal thumps Baghdatis, Djokovic stays unbeaten
(REUTERS) – World number one Rafael Nadal began his quest for a third clay title in less than a month with a 6-1, 6-3 drubbing of unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the Madrid Open second round yesterday.
The 24-year-old Spaniard, who won back-to-back tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona last month, did not face a single break point on his serve and converted his first match point when he whipped a trademark forehand winner down the line.
The victory took his record on the red dust since 2005 to 187 wins and only six defeats and set up a last-16 meeting against Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro.
The resurgent former world number four and 2009 U.S. Open champion dismissed Croat Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-0 as he continued his comeback from a wrist injury.
Nadal said he would have preferred not to meet the powerful Del Potro so early in the tournament, who has shot back up the rankings to 32 from as low as 485 at the end of January after his victory last week in Estoril.
“It’s one of those matches you can win or lose and anything could happen,” Nadal said.
“I will try to play at my top level, aggressively and with more intensity,” the Mallorca native added.
“It’s also true that I am coming into the match in good form and I will try to maintain that.
“We will see who wins but the winner will take away a lot of confidence for the rest of the tournament I think.”

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World number two Novak Djokovic maintained his blistering start to 2011 with a 6-3, 6-4 second-round victory over unseeded South African Kevin Anderson, while fourth-seeded Briton Andy Murray shrugged of the loss of the second set to come through 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 against Gilles Simon of France.
Australian Open champion Djokovic has won all 28 matches this season and is closing in on Ivan Lendl’s 29 victories at the start of the 1986 campaign, the third best on record after John McEnroe in 1984 (42) and Bjorn Borg in 1980 (33).
“It’s a great honour and very flattering to be part of that elite but it’s not my priority,” the 23-year-old Serbian, who has won five titles this year, told a news conference.
“I am just taking each match at a time and hoping I can win,” he added.
“It’s kind of a surprise but I always believed that I have the quality to beat any player.
“I am a more mature player and I have more self-belief which is very important for this level.”
Djokovic, who will play unseeded Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for a place in tomorrow’s quarter-finals, made his last appearance at the Madrid Open in 2009.
He held three match points against Nadal in the semi-finals before losing 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 in a contest that lasted a record four hours and three minutes.
The altitude in Madrid, which is around 650 metres above sea level, makes the ball fly through the air faster than at other clay events and Djokovic said if there was any clay court on which Nadal was vulnerable it was Madrid.
“Conditions are really fast here and it’s hard to control the ball,” he said.
“You don’t get that much time and control on these courts and if you serve well it’s an advantage.
“I think there are players who can win against Rafa here. If there is any court where he can be beaten it’s here. Nobody is invincible, not he or anyone else.”
Fifth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling, the last man to beat Nadal on clay, in the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2009, advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Colombian Santiago Giraldo, while Tomas Berdych, the Czech seventh seed, saw off Spanish wildcard Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-0.
Former world number one and 2009 winner Roger Federer, the third seed, plays Feliciano Lopez later yesterday.