Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Sports News

Nadal leads Rotterdam winners

|
|
 
  
Published: Feb. 11, 2009 at 8:09 PM

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Rafael Nadal rallied Wednesday for a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 first-round victory over Italy's Simone Bolelli at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

"It was a very tough match," the Australian Open champion admitted after a major scare. "You have the best players in the world playing this tournament so there are no easy matches."

The event at Ahoy Stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, was dominated Wednesday by Frenchmen.

Michael Llodra, the 2008 Rotterdam champion, beat Croatia's Ivo Karlovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; seventh-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, last week's winner at the SA Open at Johannesburg, topped local favorite Jesse Huta Galung 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4); Julien Benneteau was a 6-3, 6-2 victor against third-seeded Nikolay Davydenko; and No. 4 seed Gilles Simon beat Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 7-6 (7-1).

Other winners were Croat Mario Ancic, and France's Marc Gicquel, who downed Russia's Evgeny Korolev 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Gicquel replaced eighth-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden, last year's runner-up, when he withdrew because of injury.

Topics: Rafael Nadal
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade N.Y. Giants win Super Bowl XLVI Cheerleaders of 2012
Additional Sports News Stories
1 of 30
Valentine's Day Ramallah, West Bank
View Caption
fark
The government didn't regulate banks, and the economy fell. If the government decides to regulate...
If you are interacting with a police officer, it is best not to speak with your mouth full...of...
Remember how it took cops two days to show up and file a report after somebody broke into your house...
Electric cars prolong a destructive, car-centric lifestyle. And help you pick up socially conscious...
Man celebrates Valentine's Day in Bangkok by lobbing a bomb at a taxi that won't stop for him
How to make a million off of your restaurant in the first year. Step 1: buy an old bank. Step 2:...