::: VAMOS RAFA AT BEIJING OPEN ::: (News & Pics)

Nadal misses training on China Open debut

2005-09-10 02:45:04 XinhuaEnglish


BEIJING, Sept. 10(Xinhuanet)-- Top seed Rafael Nadal skipped his first training course on Saturday after the 19-year-old tennis upstart from Spain arrived here early in the morning for his China Open debut.

No detail was released by the organizing committee as they announced the cancellation half an hour from the scheduled starting time.

It was said that the world number two failed to find his baggage after arriving at the Beijing Capital airport at local time 8 o'clock Saturday morning, but it was not confirmed by official sources.

Nadal, who has won nine titles this season, will not kick off his China Open compaign untill Monday in the men's singles main draw, where he firstly faces the 157th-ranked Wang Yeu-Tzuoo from Chinese Taipei before meeting fifth seed Dominik Hrbaty from Slovakia in the quarter-finals.

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Nadal to launch China Open debut against Asian player

2005-09-10 05:52:20 XinhuaEnglish


BEIJING, Sept. 10(Xinhuanet)-- World number two Rafael Nadal will test his status against Chinese Taipei's Wang Yeu-Tzuoo when the China Open ATP tournament main draw starts on hardcourt at the Beijing Tennis Center on Monday.

Former world number one Carlos Moya, however, was handed a nightmare draw, as the eighth-seeded Spaniard takes top Asian netman Paradorn Srichaphan, ranked 42 currently in the world, in the very first round matchups.

Sweden's Thomas Johansson, named the fourth seed here, will also be given difficult time in the same quarter, as Germany's Rainer Schuettler and Jarkko Nieminen from Finland both eye covetously on a qualification to the last eight.

The top seed Nadal, who suffered an early exit at the ongoing U.S. Open after shockly beaten by American James Blake in the third round, opens up proceedings on the Central Court.

Argentina's The Magician Guillermo Coria, seeded second here and ranked eighth in the world, will take a lucky loser from the qualification round and poses at the down quarter of the main draw as one of the biggest threats to favorite Nadal, who has been known as the new"King of Clay" after being crowned at this year's French Open.

Third seed David Nalbandian, new generation to Argentine tennis whose giant-killing run had brought down local favorite Lleyton Hewitt at the quarter-finals of last January's Australian Open, has to pass Dane Kristian Pless' challenge before booking a possible quarter-final showdown with sixth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero from Spain.

Ferrero will meet in the first round Lee Hyung-Taik, the top tennis player of South Korea, while the seventh seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia takes a quarlifier in his opener.

China's Wang Jr. Yu and Sun Peng, entering the men's singles main draw after being handed wildcards, will respectively post their challenges on fifth seed Hrbaty and a lucky loser from the qualification round.

The annually tourney, which initiated a year ago, has been slated from September 10 to 25 with a totally 500,000 US dollars prize money for the ATP tournament.