Miami Open: Nadal wins opener, but rain sidelines Serena

Spain tennis star continues on road to recovery from sore ankle

MIAMI: Second-seeded Rafael Nadal launched his bid for a first Miami Masters title on Friday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.

Nadal, who has four runner-up finishes in 10 prior appearances on the hardcourts of Miami, showed no signs of the training mishap which left him with a sore ankle and threatened to compromise his start.

"I think I did the things well when I had to. I played with no mistakes in the important points," said Nadal. "The wind was really high, it was very difficult to find a positive feeling on court.”

Nadal said that his ankle is not fully healed, but is tolerable.

He was done and dusted before the arrival of heavy rain that washed out the night session, which was to feature world number one Serena Williams launching her bid for an eighth Miami title with a second-round match against Monica Niculescu.

It's the second tournament in a row that Serena will find herself opening her campaign against the Romanian, having worked hard to beat her 7-5, 7-5 in the second round at Indian Wells, California.

Two-time champion Andy Murray also reached the third round, backing up his recent Davis Cup win over Donald Young with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the American.

 

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