Tennis: Confident Nadal has a point to prove

When Rafael Nadal reached his first ATP final in Auckland a year ago he raised a few eyebrows.

Certainly he was tipped as one of the brightest teenage talents in the game. But he was unseeded, had yet to win an ATP title and there was a cluster of big names in that field.

But when the 18-year-old Spaniard steps on centre court today for his opening Heineken Open match, it will be a different story.

Now the long-haired leftie has the confidence of a maiden title, at Sopot in Poland, and perhaps more importantly, stood tall as a key member of the Spanish team who won a dramatic Davis Cup final against the United States in November.

Nadal, ranked 51 at the end of 2004, is preparing for a campaign he hopes will end with his name inside the world top 15 next December.

He plays defending champion and world No 14 Dominik Hrbaty today - by chance the player who beat him here in that three-set final a year ago - as part of a stellar day on centre court at the ASB Tennis Centre.

"I played very good here last year," Nadal said after an intensive workout with top-seeded Argentine Guillermo Coria on a secluded back court yesterday.

"It was my first final on tour. After that tournament I had the confidence and I played very well, but three months later I had the injury."

"The injury", a stress fracture in his left ankle joint, sidelined him from mid-April until July and put a serious crimp in his ambitions to crack the top 25 at the end of the year.

He was back in full swing for the Davis Cup final in Seville, and his win in the second singles over world No 2 Andy Roddick was critical.

He reckons his form is good - "not very good, but not bad" - and he knows he'll need to start strongly as he has respect for Hrbaty.

And well he should, given that the Slovak has won six singles titles and banked almost US$5 million ($7.2 million) in winnings.

Hrbaty is chasing a third Auckland title and if he wins it - or either of the other two former champions in the field, Jonas Bjorkman or Sjeng Schalken - there is a bonus US$15,000 to pocket.

"I like the surface, it suits my game," Hrbaty said, adding that if he can bring his Hopman Cup-winning form from Perth last weekend on court today, "I will have a good chance to beat Nadal."

A full house will witness a mouth-watering lineup today.

Coria meets Schalken in the other main attraction while former French Open and world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero plays Czech Republic qualifier Jan Hernych, second seed and world No 13 Tommy Robredo faces an awkward opponent in Dutch qualifier Raemon Sluiter in the feature match of tonight's session.

Sluiter was a quarter-finalist last year, as was qualifier Philipp Kohlschreiber, who meets yet another Spaniard, Alberto Martin.

The doubles features an entertaining clash tonight between Nadal and Ferrero, and Chilean crasher Fernando Gonzalez and 2001 doubles winner Jim Thomas of the US.

* Players will walk among the spectators seeking donations for tsunami relief before the Coria-Schalken match today.

Today's schedule (all courts start 11am)

Court one: A. Calleri (Argentina) v R. Ginepri (US) followed by 1-G. Coria (Argentina) v S. Schalken (Netherlands), followed by 3-D. Hrbaty (Slovakia) v R. Nadal (Spain), followed by Q-J. Hernych (Czech Republic) v 7-J.-C. Ferrero (Spain), followed by but not before 7pm Q-R. Sluiter (Netherlands) v 2-T. Robredo (Spain), followed by Ferrero/Nadal v F. Gonzalez (Chile)/J. Thomas (US).

Court four: Y. Allegro (Switzerland)/M. Kohlmann (Germany) v J. Benneteau/C. Saulnier (France), followed by O. Rochus (Belgium) v 8-L. Horna (Peru), followed by 3-P. Hanley/J. Kerr (Australia) v G. Oliver (US)/P. Pala (Czech Republic), followed by but not before 6pm R. Mello (Brazil) v J. Bjorkman (Sweden).

Court six: Q-P. Kohlschreiber (Germany) v A. Martin (Spain), followed by Q-F. Luzzi (Italy) v J. Monaco (Argentina), followed by 6-J. I. Chela (Argentina) v G. Garcia-Lopez (Spain).