Roger Federer took the first step toward another possible final against top-ranked Rafael Nadal by beating Frenchman Marc Gicquel 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on Saturday.
Federer is the No. 2 seed in the 96-player field. Spaniard Nadal, who will starts today, is No. 1.
A more immediate concern for Federer, however, is working his way through a bracket that is set up for possible semifinal against No. 4 seed Andy Murray of Britain, who wasn't at his best but still beat Albert Montanes of Spain, 7-5, 6-3, in their second round match.
No. 8 Gilles Simon of France struggled to a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei, but the women's field lost second seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, who was upset by 17-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 4-6, 4-6.
The loss continued an early season slump for Jankovic, who finished last year ranked No. 1, but changed her training routine during the offseason and said lost mobility in the process. "My best weapon was my legs," Jankovic said. "I always moved well and I had the anticipation and I was always on the ball. Now I just cannot do that. I'm one step too slow or one step too much into the shot, and then all the strokes break down and I don't have the timing and my accuracy is not there."
American James Blake, the No. 13 seed, beat Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, while 17th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile got past Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, reprising his win at the Australian Open.
Federer, who was playing for the first time since withdrawing from a tournament in Dubai and the first round of Davis Cup for Switzerland due to back problems, said he felt fit.
"A bit rusty maybe, coming back from not having played," Federer said. "I'm happy I've won. That's always most important."
Murray said essentially the same thing after his win while complaining of being tired due to a heavy early season schedule. "I saw that I wasn't going to play my best tennis and it would be dumb to think like that," Murray said. "I moved great, the best I had moved in quite a while."
On the women's side, No. 3 seed Elena Dementieva of Russia also complained of being tired. But unlike Murray, she didn't move well and lost 6-7 (2), 6-2, 1-6 to 24-year-old Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska, in another second-round match.
Reigning champion and No. 5 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia began her quest for a second straight title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily March 16, 2009)
