Gabashvili to face Nadal
Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:23
Gabashvili, ranked 72nd in the world, beat 40th-placed Bolelli 6-4 4-6 6-4 to set up a meeting with the Spanish superstar.
Nadal, given a bye through the first round, has already won the Australian Open and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells this year.
In other action, American Amer Delic beat Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-4 7-6 (7/2) in a match which was closely contested. Delic’s compatriot John Isner joined him in the next round with a 6-4 6-4 win over Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Portugal’s Frederico Gil beat Alexander Zverev 7-6 (9/7) 6-2 while German Benjamin Becker was a straightforward 6-4 6-3 winner against American wildcard Jesse Levine. World number 39 Andreas Seppi of Italy beat Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (8/6) 6-1.
Argentinian Martin Vassallo Arguello beat Potito Starace of Italy 7-6 (11/9) 6-4, Chilean veteran Nicolas Massu beat American wildcard Ryan Sweeting 6-4 7-6 (7/2) and American world number 47 Sam Querrey was a 6-4 6-3 winner over Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Querrey’s compatriot Bobby Reynolds also progressed as he battled back to defeat Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela 0-6 7-5 6-4.
Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei eased to a 6-2 6-2 victory over Argentina’s Eduardo Schwank while compatriot Jose Acasuso was also knocked out after losing 6-4 4-6 6-3 to Serb Janko Tipsarevic. Albert Montanes of Spain, Serb Viktor Troicki, Russian Igor Kunitsyn and Argentina’s Juan Monaco also progressed.
In the women’s event, world number 46 Shahar Peer made a strong start as she defeated Belgian wild card Tamaryn Hendler 6-1 7-6 (7/5). The 21-year-old will face fifth seed Venus Williams in the next round.
Meanwhile, American wild card Alexa Glatch secured a tricky game against world number one Serena Williams after easing past Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinsky 6-4 6-1. China’s Li Na booked her place in the second round with a 6-4 5-7 6-1 victory over Polish qualifier Urszula Radwanska.
In other games, 2007 quarterfinalist Tathiana Garbin set-up a clash with Vera Zvonareva after the Italian defeated Czech Klara Zakopalova 6-3 6-4. Compatriot Mara Santangelo also progressed by defeating Pauline Permentier of France 6-1 7-5.
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