Federer, Nadal Advance To Third Round Of Rogers Cup
Posted August 9, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s no coincidence that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are ranked first and second in the field at the Rogers ATP Cup.
As of right now they’re the two best players on the planet, and two hard hitters fans around the world just love to watch.
On Wednesday, Federer took one step closer to meeting his rival in the tournament’s final, after quickly disposing of once-prominent French star Sebastien Grosjean.
“I had patches where I played really good tennis,” said Federer.
“I was really pleased with the way I played because he’s a tough player and I haven’t played him in a while. He’s a veteran and he knows how to play the game well, and he’s quick, so I had to play a good match.”
The Swiss master improved to 30-1 on hard courts in 2006 with his 6-3, 6-3 two-set win, though things didn’t go quite as smoothly for some of the tournament’s other top seeds.
Fifth seeded James Blake was sent packing early, missing a chance to capture the $2.45 million prize and build some momentum heading into the U.S. Open.
Richard Gasquet of France ousted the American in two sets, while Tommy Robredo, the seventh seed from Spain, couldn’t handle Argentine Jose Acasuso and also earned an early dismissal. Only three men originally seeded in the top 10 are left in the tournament.
Federer will meet Russian Dmitry Tursunov in the third round while continuing on his quest to capture the title he won two years ago.
Nadal, the only man to beat Federer this year, also advanced in a late match but had more trouble with No. 98 Hyung-Taik Lee of South Korea than one would have expected. Still, the 20-year-old Spaniard prevailed in two sets, 6-4, 6-3. On Thursday he’ll take on Tomas Byrdych.
Here’s a complete list of second round action from Wednesday:
Singles:
Ivan Ljubicic (4), Croatia, def. Arnaud Clement, France, 7-6 (8), 6-4.
Richard Gasquet, France, def. James Blake (5), U.S., 6-4, 6-3.
Jose Acasuso, Argentina, def. Tommy Robredo (7), Spain, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Fernando Gonzalez (15), Chile, def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain, 6-2, 6-1.
Carlos Moya, Spain, def. Denis Gremelmayr, Germany, 6-1, 6-4.
Xavier Malisse, Belgium, def. Paradorn Srichaphan, Thailand, 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Julien Benneteau, France, def. Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-1.
Andy Murray, Britain, def. Tim Henman, Britain, 6-2, 7-6 (3)
Fernando Verdasco, Spain, def. Kevin Kim, U.S., 6-3, 6-2.
Davide Sanguinetti, Italy, def. Jan Hernych, Czech Republic, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Andy Murray, Britain, def. Tim Henman, Britain, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
Fernando Verdasco, Spain, def. Kevin Kim, U.S., 6-3, 6-2.
Dmitry Tursunov, Russia, def. Tommy Haas (16), Germany, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
Thomas Johansson, Sweden, def. Lleyton Hewitt (11), Australia, 6-3, 3-2, retired.
Rafael Nadal (2), Spain, def. Lee Hyung-taik, South Korea, 6-4, 6-3.
Doubles:
Simon Aspelin, Sweden, and Todd Perry, Australia, def. Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner (8), Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-3.
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (1), U.S., def. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile, and Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, 6-2, 6-4.
Mark Knowles, Bahamas, and Daniel Nestor (4), Toronto@, def. Gaston Gaudio and Sebastian Preito, Argentina, 6-3, 7-6 (2).
Wayne Arthurs, Australia, and Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia, def. Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram (6), Israel, 6-4, 3-6 (6).
Martin Damm, Czech Republic, and Leander Paes, India, def. Tomas Berdych and Jaroslav Levinsky, Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-1.
Paul Hanley, Australia, and Kevin Ullyett (3), Zimbabwe, def. David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo, Spain, 6-4, 5-7, 10-4.
Jonas Bjorkman, Sweden, and Max Mirnyi (2), Belarus, def. Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov, Russia, 6-4, 6-2.
