News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp

Available on  gplay

This article was first published 13 years ago
Rediff.com  » Sports » David Ferrer falls at first hurdle in Rotterdam

David Ferrer falls at first hurdle in Rotterdam

February 09, 2011 09:22 IST
Get Rediff News in your Inbox:

Australian Open semi-finalist David Ferrer failed to get past the first round at the World Indoor Tournament after being surprisingly swept aside 6-3, 6-4 by unseeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen on Tuesday.

It was the Spaniard's first opening round defeat since August as he struggled on serve with five double faults in the loss to a player he beat in the first round in Melbourne.

Top seed Robin Soderling had no such concerns as he sauntered to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over local favourite Robin Haase in less than an hour to open the defence of his title.

The world number four enjoyed a solid start to the year after winning in Brisbane before his surprise fourth-round exit to Alexandr Dolgopolov at the Australian Open.

David FerrerThe Swede dropped just six points on serve to set up a second-round meeting with Germany's Philip Kohlschreiber who beat Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun 6-4, 7-6.

"Normally it is always difficult to play your first round matches but today it went almost perfectly," he told reporters.

"But even leading by a set and a break you have to stay focused on every point as the margins nowadays are so small you can't allow him back in," the Swede added.

Eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga got past Bulgarian youngster Grigor Dimitrov, named 'Baby Federer' on the circuit, 6-4 6-4 and will now meet French compatriot Michael Llodra.

"He (Dimitrov) has that nickname but he still is no Federer who is more consistent and moves better," Tsonga told reporters.

"(But) today I had to play my best tennis otherwise I could have lost this match," he added.

Fourth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych cruised into the second round with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and now faces Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov.

Second-seeded Briton Andy Murray, who won the title in 2009 when he beat Rafael Nadal in the final, starts his campaign against unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis on Wednesday.

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:
Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE 2024

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE 2024