Paris Masters

No problems for Nadal in Paris

ESPN staff

October 30, 2013

Highlights: Del Potro bt Cillic

Rafael Nadal kicked off his quest for a maiden Paris Masters crown with a 7-5 7-5 victory over fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers.

The world No. 1 has only reached the final of the event, finishing a runner-up to David Nalbandian in 2007, but the reigning French and US Open champion will be keen to land a first Paris trophy and send a message to his rivals ahead of the ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena next week.

Nadal is bidding to become the first player to win six Masters titles in a season, and Granollers made life tough for him in the opening exchanges of the encounter.

It took Nadal until the 11th game of the opening set to get the break, and he held serve to hold the advantage.

Like he did in the first set, Granollers served first and held to put the pressure on Nadal. However, it was in the 11th game once again where Nadal made the breakthrough, and he went on to clinch the set by the same 7-5 scoreline and take the win to reach the last 16.

Juan Martin del Potro kept his recent good form going with a 6-4 7-6(3) win over Marin Cilic.

The Argentinian is looking to win a maiden Masters 1000 crown having become the first player to win four ATP 500 titles in one season with victory over Roger Federer on Sunday in Basel.

David Ferrer continues to play well ahead of the World Tour Finals after he recorded a 6-0 2-6 6-3 second round victory over Lukas Rosol.

Ferrer raced through the first set without reply, winning three out of three break points to secure a bagel over his opponent.

However, Rosol responded with the early break in the second set and levelled the tie with a flurry of impressive shots across the court.

Third-seed Ferrer took the advantage in the deciding set with the first break point, but Rosol did not surrender as easily as he did in the opener.

The world No. 44 held his serve but could not find the all-important break to level, with Ferrer advancing to round three where he will face Gilles Simon, who came through a three hour epic with Nicolas Mahut 6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(3).

Elsewhere, John Isner overcame qualifier Michal Przysiezny 7-6(3) 4-6 6-3 to set up a third round tie with Novak Djokovic.

Nicolas Almagro saw off the challenge of Ivan Dodig in just over an hour, booking his place in the third round with a 6-4 6-3 win. The 12th seed will now face Stanislas Wawrinka after he beat Feliciano Lopez 6-3 3-6 6-3.