By DPA,
Melbourne : Top seed Rafael Nadal and 2010 finalist Andy Murray got the benefit of easy opening wins Tuesday at the Australian Open as their opponents quit injured to hand over first-round victories.
Nadal booked easy passage, with the Spaniard showing no mercy against Marcos Daniel as the Brazilian quit trailing 0-6, 0-5 with a knee injury.
Fifth seeded Murray required just over 100 minutes for his own easy win, achieved as Slovak Karol Beck was forced to end it early with a shoulder problem 3-6, 1-6, 2-4 to the Scot.
“I don’t know exactly when he hurt himself,” said Murray who lost the final a year ago to Roger Federer. “He was serving pretty well up until the end of the second set.
“Obviously you’d rather finish the match off without your opponent being hurt. But it does happen quite a lot. So you just have to move on and get yourself ready for the next round.”
Nadal, bidding for a fourth consecutive Grand Slam title, needed just three-quarters of an hour to advance against his own hampered opponent.
“I’m a professional and I try my best in every point,” said Nadal after the rout in which Daniel won only 12 points. “That’s the best way to respect the opponent.
“I think he started the match injured, he tried his best. He didn’t want to retire, I have all the respect for him.”
So brief was the victory for Nadal, who suffered last week with a virus, that he immediately went onto a practice court for 30 minutes to work on serve after advancing with 25 winners, 10 unforced errors and six breaks of Daniel.
“I think I played right,” said Nadal. “I played some good shots, some long shots. The serve can be a little bit better.”
Swedish number four Robin Soderling knocked out Italy’s Potito Starace 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, while Spain’s David Ferrer, seventh, followed Nadal’s example as he beat Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
Russian 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny defeated Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
Austrian 11th seed Juergen Melzer dispatched Frenchman Vincent Millot 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Croatian 15th seed Marin Cilic beat American qualifier Donald Young 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.
In women’s play, there was more success for leading players. Second seed Vera Zvonareva, finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open, crushed Austrian Sybille Bammer 6-2, 6-1.
“That experience is something that made me stronger, a better player, more mature,” said the Russian who studies international relations at a Moscow university when she has the time.
“I’m trying to look forward, I’m trying to improve. It’s nice to start your Grand Slam like that. It’s always difficult to play your best tennis out there in the first match.
“But I did what I needed to win and I’m pretty happy, I’m looking forward for the next challenge.”
It was also smooth for Aussie heroine and fifth seed Sam Stosur, the French Open finalist. The Queenslander hammered 17-year-old American Lauren Davis, youngest woman in the draw, 6-1, 6-1.
Serbia’s former number one Jelena Jankovic pronounced her form adequate after a roller-coaster win over Russian Alla Kudryavtseva 6-0, 7-6 (7-5).
“I thought I played pretty well in the first set, I was really solid,” said Jankovic. “I really moved my feet.
“In the second I kind of relaxed and my opponent started playing much better. She started really going after her shots and gave me a really hard time.”