• Monte Carlo Masters

Nadal flexes muscles with win over Nieminen

Rafael Nadal had too many guns for Jarkko Nieminen in the second round in Monte Carlo © PA Photos

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Rafael Nadal fired out a warning to the pretenders to his crown that he is still the man to beat on clay with a demolition job on Jarkko Nieminen in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The Spaniard had total domination over the European clay court season last year, culminating in his fifth French Open title, and he looks in no mood to surrender his position as he cruised to a 6-2 6-2 win.

Nieminen attempted a number of different tactics, but whether taking the ball early, charging the net or taking the pace off the ball with low slice, Nadal had the answers.

Nadal made an early signal of intent, running through the first two games to love, and a huge cheer went round the arena when Nieminen collected his first point at the ninth time of asking. He held serve in the third game, but it did not stem the tide as Nadal produced a string of blistering passing shots and stunning angles.

The first set was wrapped up in 33 minutes and a rapid break of serve at the start of the second set the tone for the remainder of the match.

Niemenen went on the offensive after dropping his serve and hit with great power, but Nadal was at ease in defending from the back of the court before turning defence into attack.

The Finn saved a couple of match points on his own serve in the seventh game but it served only to delay the inevitable as victory was sealed in a shade over an hour.

"It was just the first match on clay, so it is an important victory for me for sure," Nadal said. "Today was a positive start. I think I played better than what I practised the last days, so that's always positive.

"It Is positive the way how I played with the forehand. It was positive the way that my serve worked. It wasn't bad. I have to play a little bit more aggressive with the backhand. I have to move better and make less mistakes than I had today."

Nadal will face Richard Gasquet in round three after the Frenchman raced to a 6-2 6-1 win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The Frenchman was in stunning form, losing his serve on just one occasions when 5-1 up in the first set, and he simply overwhelmed his Spanish opponent.

"[It] is important [that it was a fast match], especially if I have to play Rafa tomorrow," Gasquet said. "I played a good match today. I have nothing to lose against him, when Nadal plays on clay. I'm happy now that I'm in the round of 16. Everything is going well for me because my ranking is better. With Nadal, we know what to expect."

David Ferrer was another player to progress without needing to hit top gear, as he dropped just two games in beating Feliciano Lopez 6-2 6-0 in just 56 minutes.

Gael Monfils has been fighting hard to overcome injury and, after a tough start, he found his stride to beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-5 6-2. "I feel much better," he said. "It was tough and I did not play my best tennis, but to be on the court is good and I will look to improve."

Frederico Gil eased to a 7-5 6-1 win over Florian Mayer, while Marin Cilic was 5-2 to the good when his opponent Pere Riba was forced to retire, setting up a third-round clash with Roger Federer.

Alberto Montanes is always a threat on clay, but he found Gilles Simon too strong - the No. 16 seed winning 6-3 6-4. Viktor Troicki needed three sets to beat Fabio Fognini, as did No. 7 seed Jurgen Melzer against Robin Haase.

Fernando Verdasco ran through to the final 12 months ago, but there will be no repeat as he was beaten 6-4 6-3 by his fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo, while Nicolas Almagro also advanced after a three-hour epic against Maximo Gonzalo, winning 6-7(6) 7-5 7-6(10).

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