VALENCIA, Spain - Rafael Nadal crushed fellow Spaniard and former French Open tennis champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2 6-1 in the first round of the Valencia Open today.
Ferrero, whose career took a nose dive last year after a bout of chicken pox and niggling injuries, was blown off court by the in-form teenager in what was the first competitive meeting between the two players.
Nadal showed no lingering effects from his five-set defeat by world No 1 Roger Federer in the Nasdaq-100 Open on Sunday, breaking serve five times on his way to victory in just 57 minutes.
The 19-year-old Nadal has been one of the hottest players on the Tour this year, culminating in his performance last week when he threatened to snap Federer's record of 17 straight final victories by grabbing the first two sets.
Another former French Open champion, Albert Costa, had more luck than Ferrero, progressing to the quarter-finals with an authoritative 6-4 6-2 victory over Austria's Stefan Koubek.
Second seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile also booked his place in the last eight with a confident 6-4 6-1 win over Spain's Felix Mantilla.
- REUTERS
Tennis: Ferrero blown away by Nadal
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