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Nadal, Henin and Hingis advance at Indian Wells
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-13 09:46
INDIAN WELLS, California (AP) _ Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi
won their opening matches while top seeds Justine Henin-Hardenne and Lindsay
Davenport took another step toward the Pacific Life Open women's final Sunday.
Martina Hingis of Switzerland returns a shot
to Sybille Bammer of Austria at the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament in
Indian Wells, California March 12, 2006.
[Reuters] | Federer, No. 1 in the world and a
two-time defending champion in this event, turned back Nicolas Massu of Chile in
a second-set tiebreaker, 6-3, 7-6 (4), while Spain's Nadal, the second seed,
rolled to a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic in their
second-round match.
No. 8 seed Agassi won the final six games in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over
Paul Goldstein in the second round. Nadal and Agassi could meet in the
semifinals.
Meanwhile, relegated to one of the outside courts on a cold, windy day,
Henin-Hardenne overcame Tszvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, and
Davenport, who requested an afternoon match, beat Laura Granville 6-4, 6-0.
Martina Hingis beat Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-0, 6-3 to move into the
fourth round against Davenport, who leads 14-10 in their rivalry.
No. 4 seed David Nalbandian and No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko also won second-round
matches over Justin Gimelstob and Andy Murray, respectively.
But Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, ranked No. 94 in the world, upset
tenth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain 6-2, 6-2, and No. 64 Robin Soderling of
Sweden beat No. 13 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-4, 6-0.
The rain that had disrupted the tournament Friday and Saturday was in
evidence only briefly Sunday. But winds blowing off the nearby snow-covered
mountains created cold, treacherous conditions off and on during the day.
Nadal beat Federer in a three-set final last weekend in Dubai to snap the
Swiss star's record 56-match winning streak on hard courts. He said the
conditions Sunday were difficult.
"It's windy and the wind is not going to the right, to the left, in front,
the wind goes like this," Nadal said as he made a circular motion, "and it's
very difficult to play."
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