Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies

03-17-2009 13:45

BEIJING, March 17 --  Rafael Nadal needed just 67 minutes to beat Michael Berrer of Germany, 6-2, 6-1, in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on Sunday.

Rafael Nadal of Spain gestures to the crowd after the  men's singles final against Roger Federer of  Switzerland at Australian Open tennis tournament in  Melbourne, Feb. 1, 2009. Nadal won the match 3-2.  (Xinhua/Han Yan)

    Nadal, enjoying his 30th consecutive week at No. 1, had a bye in the first round before overwhelming Berrer, a qualifier ranked No. 112 on the ATP Tour. Nadal lost just five points in seven service games and broke Berrer five times.

    "For me it was perfect," said the Spaniard, who will meet Dmitry Tursunov of Russia in the third round. "I played a very comfortable match. I had the break in the first game of both sets. That's really important. I felt well on the court, playing good."

    The 26th-ranked Tursunov struggled to a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3 win over American qualifier Michael Russell.

    Seventh-seeded Andy Roddick didn't play quite as well against Austrian qualifier Daniel Koellerer, but still managed a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win. Fellow American Sam Querrey beat No. 18 Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-3.

    Defending champion and third-seeded Novak Djokovic also advanced to the third round with a 7-5, 6-4 win against Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina.

Djokovic struggled at the start of the season, but is coming off a tournament title at Dubai last month.

    "Winning Dubai meant a lot for my confidence level and for my game overall," he said. "I've changed my racket. Probably that was the big reason for mental instability in certain stages at the start of the year. I was thinking about that more than my game. Luckily for me, it has changed."

    American Mardy Fish, last year's runner-up, lost to Jeremy Chardy of France, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1).