NADAL AND FED ADVANCE IN QATAR

 

Rafael Nadal needed little more than three-quarters of an hour to score his first victory on the 2009 ATP World Tour, his crushing success appearing like an omen of yet further triumphs to come.

The Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion won 6-0, 6-1 against Fabrice Santoro in the first round of the Qatar Open, overwhelming the oldest man on the tour with his heavy hitting and relentless energy.

Meanwhile, Federer also progressed quickly. The winner of 13 Grand Slam titles started the new tour with an imperious 6-2, 6-2 success over Potito Starace, the world number 71, and now plays a second successive Italian, Andreas Seppi, who is almost 40 places higher.

Federer, who had been at risk of losing his world number two ranking, is now certain to hold on to it at least until the end of the Australian Open on February 1.

That is because Novak Djokovic, the world number three from Serbia, who is a mere ten ranking points behind him, started the 2009 season with a shock loss