Federer, Nadal win while Ferrer and Murray are upset
The tennis at the 2008 Beijing Olympics is underway and there have already been some upsets. Let’s start with those seeds who did win. Top-seeded Roger Federer picked up a straight-set victory over Dmitry Tursunov and will face Rafael Arevalo in the second round. Federer needed only 65 minutes to dispense of Tursunov and he definitely has to be happy about that result.
Nadal’s win wasn’t as easy. He beat Italian Potito Starace 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in a match that took over two hours and fifteen minutes. It doesn’t get any easier for Nadal in the second round as he will face former Grand Slam champion and #1 Lleyton Hewitt.
Other seeded players to win on the men’s side included Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, David Nalbandian, American James Blake, and Stanislas Wawrinka.
Not included in that bunch of winners were #5 David Ferrer and #6 Andy Murray. Ferrer was upset by Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 7-6(8), 6-2 while Murray fell to Yen-Hsun Lu 7-6(5), 6-4. Murray’s loss definitely has to be considered the bigger upset here as he came into the tournament red-hot. He just took home the title at the Masters Series event in Cincinnati and many people thought he had a great chance to make some noise in the Olympics. He will have to turn his focus now to the US Open, which I am sure he will do.
Also falling today was NBTA student Kei Nishikori. The Japanese tennis sensation lost to 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 in the first round. Tough break for Kei, but I am sure he won’t let it bother him too much.
On the women’s side, Americans Serena and Venus Williams both picked up straight-set victories. Serena will now face Australian Sam Stosur in the second round, while Venus takes on Iveta Benesova. Also winning was second-seed and new world #1 Jelena Jankovic. She picked up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Cara Black and will face Alona Bondarenko in the second round.
The biggest upset of the day was of third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova. She feel to China’s own Na Li 7-6(5), 6-4. Also falling was #11 Agnes Szavay of Hungary. She lost to Wimbledon semifinalist Jie Zheng in three sets.
Other seeded winners included: Dinara Safina, Agnieszka Radwanska, Vera Zvonareva, Patty Schnyder, Daniela Hantuchova, Alize Cornet, and Dominika Cibulkova.
