Coming off a gold medal in doubles at the Rio Olympics in addition to a rough fourth-place showing in singles, Rafael Nadal arrived at the Western & Southern Open on Monday afternoon. Nadal was scheduled to practice later in the day, but that was eventually cancelled. Rain rather than fatigue or injury may have been the most significant factor, but the Spaniard’s status for this Masters 1000 tournament remains to be seen.
Tomas Berdych, who is well-rested after skipping the Olympics, held his pre-tournament press conference and the hot topic was his new partnership with coach Goran Ivanisevic, who recently parted ways from Marin Cilic.
“I think that was the person I was waiting for,” Berdych said of Ivanisevic, who finally got over the hump to triumph at Wimbledon in 2001. “He’s the guy who found a way to break through. So let’s see if it’s going to be the right thing–the right addition.
“These days I think 30 is not an old age for tennis players,” the Czech added. “If you look around, I think it’s still a pretty good time. That’s why I’m just trying to look for all the possible help and just trying to improve myself as best as I can.”
As for what transpired on the court, rain held off just enough to get in a full schedule. Cilic was among those booking spots in round two, as the 12th-seeded Croat cruised past Viktor Troicki 6-2, 7-5.
Cilic is joined in the last 32 by a red-hot Nick Kyrgios, who recently captured his second career ATP title in Atlanta. Kyrgios had an intriguing first-rounder on his hands against Lucas Pouille, but for the most part the 21-year-old turned it into one-way traffic. He broke serve twice in the opening set before taking complete control with a winning backhand pass on break point at 5-5 in the second. An easy hold at 6-5 gave Kyrgios the victory after only one hour and seven minutes.
It as also a big day for young Americans. Both Reilly Opelka and Jared Donaldson, who received wild cards into the main draw, battled through their openers. Opelka, a surprise Atlanta semifinalist, fought off two match points before upsetting Jeremy Chardy 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(9). Donaldson maintained his fine form by beating Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-6(2).
The only seed to take a tumble on Monday was No. 10 David Ferrer, whose slide continued with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to Julien Benneteau.
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