Probably not the start he was hoping for, but Rafael Nadal managed to go through his debut in this 2016 season in Doha. At the QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN the second seed played and lost his first official set for the 2016 season on the ATP World Tour. Facing compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta, Rafael stayed strong to come back and win the match in three sets with the final score of 6-7 6-3 6-1.
No breaks of serve in the first set, as both players stay strong on their service games. As the set gets dragged into a decider, Nadal is the first player to move up a mini-break, leading 2-0. A lack of focus and shallow shots though allow Carreno Busta right into the tie-break. The World No.67 gets a 6-2 lead playing aggressive and then closes out the set on his 4th chance, winning the tie-break by 7 points to 5.
Nadal’s reaction doesn’t wait for long as the 14-time Grand Slam champion has chances to break already in the first game. Rafael goes on to break Carreno Busta twice in the set closing it 6 games to 3. In the third, Rafael starts to swing his racket full power, taking control of the rallies. Looking fresh in his first three-setter of the year, Nadal closes the match winning the third set by 6 games to 2 after exactly 2 hours.
While 3rd seed Tomas Berdych joined Nadal on the winning side after defeating Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-5 6-4, the tournament lost its 4th seed, with David Ferrer facing defeat to Ukraine’s Ilia Marchenko. The World No.94 took advantage of a dull day on the court from Ferrer, unable to close out the contest despite winning a tight first set. David was ousted by 6-7(8) 6-3 6-2.
First Round Results in Doha:
[2] R.Nadal b. P.Carreno Busta 6-7(5) 6-3 6-1
P.Andujar b. P.Lorenzi 6-4 0-6 6-4
[8] L.Mayer b. [Q] B.Becker 6-1 6-2
[3] T.Berdych b. S.Stakhovsky 7-5 6-4
R.Berankis b. A.Seppi 3-6 6-1 6-4
I.Marchenko b. [4] D.Ferrer 6-7(8) 6-3 6-2
T.Gabashvili b. S.Bolelli 4-6 6-4 6-1
P.Mathieu b. A.Ramos-Vinolas 6-3 4-6 7-6(7)
