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Djokovic, Nadal strike clay success with opening wins



Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal established early-season clay superiority after months away from the surface with the top two in the world both advancing in opening matches on Wednesday at the Monte Carlo Masters. Top seed Djokovic won his seventh match without a loss against Andrea Seppi as he punished the Italian 6-1, 6-4. Nadal, playing on a recently treated left knee, got past Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-3. The Spanish king of clay, who last touched the surface during the December Davis Cup finals win over Argentina, is searching for an unprecedented eighth title at the iconic tournament sited on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean. Nadal improved to 40-1 in the principality, with his only loss occurring in 2003. He lost his only match at the venue in 2003 and has now won 38 in a row. "I played a really normal match, nothing special," said the second seed, who added: "Nothing very bad, but nothing very good. "It was the first match on clay after a long time, and the first match after 15 days without touching a racquet. The important thing was that I won in straight sets." Nieminen, winner of the Sydney title in January, broke Nadal as the Spaniard served for victory but lost his own serve a game later to end it on a agonizing double-fault. Nadal had gone to the court unsure of his physical status after not playing for almost three weeks and worried over the painful knee which forced him to skip a Miami semi-final against Andy Murray. Djokovic had not played clay since losing a French Open semi to Roger Federer on June 3. He missed the tournament at his Monte Carlo home base in 2011 due to fatigue but benefited from a two-week window between his title in Miami and the clay start to rest and prepare well. "I was really focused first set and played it well against a tough, quality opponent who plays good on clay. For the first official match since Roland Garros last year, it was satisfying," said the Serb. "I served really well when I needed to. That's encouraging for the clay, it's good to have a couple of free points there. "But it takes at least a week to adjust to the movement on clay, to switch the style of the game. You have to make adjustments and be a little bit more patient in your rallies. "With the way I played today I'm happy. I cannot be happier for the first official match after, what, eight, nine months. I'm looking forward to the next one." Djokovic will face off on Thursday in the third round against Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, the 16th seed who beat Australian Bernard Tomic 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. "He's a very talented player, comes up with some shots that are not really typical," said Djokovic. "He changes the pace and is very dangerous on clay. I need to be aware and disciplined on the court." Spain's fifth seed David Ferrer went down in a 6-3, 6-2 surprise to Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci while Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (7-3), 6-1. Other seeded winners included Serb seventh seed Janko Tipsarevic, who put out Spain's Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3 and number eight Nicolas Almagro, who beat Italian Potito Starace 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.

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