NADAL, FED, MURRAY, DJOKOVIC INTO SECOND

 

 

Nadal provided an ominous demonstration of his Australian Open intentions by crushing Belgium's Christophe Rochus 6-0 6-2 6-2 in the first round on Tuesday.

The Spaniard could hardly have been more impressive as he raced to victory in 77 minutes for the loss of just four games.

Nadal

wrapped up the first set in just 19 minutes, giving up only eight points, and was just as ruthless as he closed out the match.

Nadal has never won the Australian Open but has progressed further every time he has made the trip to Melbourne.

He reached the third round on his debut in 2004 and the fourth round a year later. He missed 2006 but made the quarter-finals in 2007 then the semi-finals last year.

He is among the favourites to win the title this year, along with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, but said he was not thinking that far ahead.

Murray only needed to play 12 games to advance -- Andrei Pavel retired with a back problem down 6-2, 3-1 and 15-0. When they walked off, the temperature was hovering at 37 Celsius (99 Fahrenheit).

In addition to the heat, the early afternoon sun was nearly blinding at one end of the court.

Roger Federer took the first step toward his record-tying 14th Grand Slam title with a 6-1, 7-6 (4), 7-5 victory Monday over Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open.

Federer, seeking to match Pete Sampras' mark, was at his best on the big points on the opening day when most favorites avoided upsets. However, it wasn't easy for even the top players.

"He is a very tough customer, he played really well," Federer said of the 35th-ranked Seppi. "I think I played well, too. I had to."

Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic, started strong then had to rally from service breaks in the last two sets - he was down 4-0 in the third - to oust Andrea Stoppini 6-2, 6-3, 7-5