Relaxed Nadal cruising in Australian Open
Rafael Nadal of Spain talks to the media at a press conference following his first round match win against Marcos Daniel of Brazil during day two of the 2011 Australian Open. (Jan. 18, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
MELBOURNE, Australia - If Rafael Nadal is getting nervous as he eases closer to winning his fourth consecutive Grand Slam title, he sure isn't showing it.
After his 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 win yesterday over American qualifier Ryan Sweeting, the Spanish star appeared as comfortable talking about his next match - against 18-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic - as he was in beating Sweeting.
"Practice a little bit tomorrow, rest in the hotel, maybe going to the aquarium - I go every year. Nothing different," Nadal said, when asked about his preparations for tomorrow's match.
Shrugging and smiling, he added: "If I start getting nervous two days before a match, I have a big problem."
Nadal hasn't had any real problems in recent Grand Slam tournaments - yesterday's win was his 23rd in a row in majors going back to the first round of the French Open last year.
Asked how he thought Tomic should approach their match, he shrugged and, to laughter, replied: "Play very, very bad please . . . That's what I'd tell him."
The other player looking as impressive as Nadal is Kim Clijsters, who is fast becoming a favorite for the women's title in the absence of defending champion Serena Williams, who is out with a foot injury.
The third-seeded Clijsters dumped former No. 1-ranked Dinara Safina in the first round, 6-0, 6-0. Yesterday, she beat Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, 6-1, 6-3.
"I tried to play both sides of the court, tried to be aggressive and dictate the points," Clijsters said. "And it worked."
Second-seeded Vera Zvonareva, who lost to Clijsters in last year's U.S. Open final, overcame a shaky start to beat Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
In women's matches played Friday, Svetlana Kuznetsova ousted 11th-seeded Justine Henin, 6-4, 7-6 (8), and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, 6-4, 6-3.
In men's matches, Andy Roddick beat Robin Haase, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 5-2, 6-2, and Novak Djokovic won when fellow Serb Viktor Troicki retired with an ankle injury after losing the first set 6-2.
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