Rafael Nadal has posted the most convincing performance of the Australian Open 2009 men’s tournament so far, crushing Christophe Rochus of Belgium 6-0 6-2 6-2 on Tuesday night.
Belgian Rochus barely had time to flash a wry smile as the world No.1 stormed through the first set of their first meeting in 19 minutes.
While superfluous, the statistics told the story, the Spaniard striking 12 winners to Rochus’ one and winning a total 24 points to the Belgian’s eight.
After what must have felt like an eternity to the Belgian, but what was in reality just 34 minutes, Rochus got his name on the scoreboard in the ninth game of the match, saluting the ecstatic crowd with a wave of his racquet and a huge smile.
Merciful self tucked firmly back in his racquet bag, Nadal romped to a 3-1 lead, extending his advantage by a further set as the 48-minute mark ticked over on the courtside clock.
Rochus took the lead in a set for the first time as the match entered its third stanza. But an intense-looking Nadal wasn’t about to give the world No.75 an inch. He wrapped up proceedings with the loss of just one more game, romping to a second round date with world No.91 Roko Karanusic of Croatia in 77 minutes.
Quick facts
Nadal won 83 points to Rochus’ 40
Nadal won 91 per cent of points on his first serve
Nadal served 10 aces to Rochus' one
Rochus managed seven winners to Nadal’s 47
No comments:
Post a Comment