Match report

Nicolas Devilder © Tennistalk.com
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
2nd round
1/6/09 1 2 Tot
fr  Nicolas Devilder 5 6 0
fr  Gael Monfils 7 7 2
Gael Monfils © Tennistalk.com
Rafael Nadal © Tennistalk.com
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
2nd round
1/7/09 1 2 Tot
es  Rafael Nadal 6 6 2
sk  Karol Beck 1 2 0
Karol Beck © Tennistalk.com
Victor Hanescu © Tennistalk.com
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
2nd round
1/7/09 1 2 Tot
ro  Victor Hanescu 6 6 2
ru  Mikhail Youzhny 2 4 0
Mikhail Youzhny © Tennistalk.com

  • Nadal cruises into Doha quarterfinals

    1/7/09 4:57 PM | Ricky Dimon
    Rafael Nadal rolls over Karol Beck in straight sets at the Qatar Open on Wednesday. Gael Monfils also advances to set up a quarterfinal showdown with the world No. 1.

    Rafael Nadal d. Karol Beck 6-1, 6-2

    Nadal needed just one hour and one minute to dispatch Karol Beck, a Slovakian qualifier ranked 144th in the world, in the Doha second round on Wednesday. Beck fared just a bit better than Fabrice Santoro did in round one against Nadal, and he started out both sets hanging in there with the No. 1 seed. The underdog held serve for 1-1 in the first before Nadal won the next five games. Nadal suffered his only hiccup of the match early in the second, losing concentration after an easy first set to drop serve in the opening game of the second. Beck held for a surprising 2-0 lead, but the Spaniard woke up and sprinted to victory by taking the next six games. Nadal will square off with No. 5 seed Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals.

    Gael Monfils d. Nicolas Devilder 7-5, 7-6(4)

    Monfils had a tough time with Devilder, a 28-year-old fellow Frenchman, but the No. 5 seed eventually survived after two hours and seven minutes. Devilder went toe-to-toe with his heavily-favored opponent until 5-5 in the first set, when Monfils finally pulled out the first break of the match on his fifth chance. Monfils, who lost just eight points in six service games, then closed out the opening frame of play. Set two was just as tight but had a much different feel. The players exchanged a pair of breaks each as the set progressed to a tiebreaker. Monfils, who fired six aces in the first set, saw his service level dip in the second and that allowed Devilder to get comfortable in the return game. Nonetheless, Monfils' big-match experience showed in the tiebreaker and he took it seven points to four to finish off the proceedings. Monfils' quarterfinal clash with Nadal will be the fourth career meeting between the two stars; Nadal holds a 3-0 edge.

    Victor Hanescu d. Mikhail Youzny 6-2, 6-4

    Youzhny got his 2009 campaign off to a strong start on Tuesday in a three-set upset of No. 6 seed Igor Andreev, but the Russian was no match for Hanescu in the second round. Just as he did in round one against Viktor Troicki, Hanescu used his big serve to set up points instead of going for outright aces. The 6'6'' Romanian did not hit a single ace in the first set against Youzhny but he still lost a mere three points in four service games. Two breaks of serve were more than enough for Hanescu to ease through the opening set. Youzhny was a bit more competitive in the second, but Hanescu capitalized on his one break chance of the set and that allowed him to serve out the match at 5-4. Hanescu, who did not face a single break point on Wednesday, will take on either Andy Roddick or Arnaud Clement for a spot in the semifinals.

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