BEIJING: World No. 1 Rafael Nadal saved two match points to avoid a shock defeat in the first round of the China Open, seeing off Lucas Pouille in three sets on Tuesday.
The Frenchman broke Nadal on the way to taking the first set 6-4, and the world No. 23 came within a whisker of sealing an upset when the second set went to a tiebreak.
But Nadal, 31, with the Beijing crowd backing him on the outdoor hard court, held his nerve when twice staring defeat in the face and fought back to win the tie break 8-6.
The pair headed into a final-set shootout and again Pouille refused to buckle, Nadal getting the critical break of serve in the 11th game before serving for the set and match 7-5.
Nadal, a 16-time Grand Slam champion, tumbled and lost a shoe at one point, and said afterward he was fortunate to be in the second round.
“He played well, I think, very aggressive. He’s serving well,” said Nadal, who lost to Pouille the last time they met, at last year’s US Open.
“For me it was a little bit difficult at the beginning, then I started to play better.
“But still, I didn’t have the control of the match for almost all the time.
“I am very, very happy to be through.”
Nadal narrowly avoided the fate of fellow Spaniard and top-ranked Garbine Muguruza, who exited in the first round on Monday when she retired from her match with a virus.
Also into the second round in the men’s draw are Nick Kyrgios, Juan Martin del Potro, the American John Isner and third seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
Maria Sharapova said her third-round clash with world No. 2 Simona Halep on Wednesday would help her gauge progress since returning from a 15-month doping ban.
The Russian former No. 1, on the comeback trail since April following the ban for taking the banned substance meldonium, had to dig deep as she defeated compatriot Ekaterina Makarova in three sets.
Sharapova, a lowly 104 in the world and on a wildcard at the China Open, has yet to win a tournament since returning to tennis.
The five-time Grand Slam champion said she had endured “a few ups and downs” in seeing off Makarova 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
But the 30-year-old is relishing her showdown with the Romanian Halep: “We know each other’s games very well, that’s no secret.
“They’ve always been very challenging, tough, competitive, emotional.”
Sharapova, a crowd favorite in Beijing, added: “But I love the challenge of playing against someone that’s number two in the world.
“She’s a great player, she’s had a great year.
“Any time you’re able to face an opponent that’s done something right and well, it’s great to see where you are and where your level is.”
The Halep meeting will be a replay of the first-round match between the pair at the US Open in August, when Sharapova made an impressive return to Grand Slam competition before exiting in the fourth round.
Sharapova boasts a 7-0 record against Halep, who made it into the next round after Magdalena Rybarikova retired ill in the second set.
Karolina Pliskova, the fourth seed from the Czech Republic, booked her spot in round three with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Andrea Petkovic of Germany.
Nadal dodges upset ax in Beijing
Nadal dodges upset ax in Beijing
Supersub strikes again as Sesko gives Man United win at Everton
- The defeat was a blow to Everton’s hopes of a place in next year’s European competitions and left it languishing in ninth, behind Brentford and Bournemouth
LIVERPOOL, England: Manchester United supersub Benjamin Sesko scored 13 minutes after entering the field to give his side a 1-0 win over Everton in the Premier League on Monday.
It was the third time in four games that Sesko has scored after coming off the bench and secured points for United.
“I believe in me and so do the other players as well,” Sesko told Sky Sports. “They know what they are going to get when I arrive in the game. It’s up to me to deliver of course.”
His goal with 19 minutes remaining finished off the slickest move of an otherwise stodgy game.
Bryan Mbeumo controlled Matheus Cunha’s superb long ball and played a perfectly weighted pass to the feet of Sesko, who steered the ball past Jordan Pickford with aplomb.
“It was a great finish,” United interim coach Michael Carrick said. “It was a ruthless finish. I liked the way he put it away with real confidence. It was great play from Cunha and Mbeumo to set it up and we are dangerous on the break.”
Until then defenses had been on top and the lack of attacking fluency was not helped by a heavy pitch that appeared to slow down both teams.
The result took fourth-placed United three points clear of Chelsea and Liverpool. United was three behind Aston Villa.
It also extended Carrick’s unbeaten run to six games since he replaced Ruben Amorim on Jan. 13.
The defeat was a blow to Everton’s hopes of a place in next year’s European competitions and left it languishing in ninth, behind Brentford and Bournemouth and eight points adrift of Chelsea and Liverpool.
David Moyes’ men have gone seven games without a win at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“Generally we did very well in lots of bits,” Moyes said. “We got done on the counterattack and they ran away and got the goal that was there. We put in a great effort to get the goal but lacked the quality to make it count.”
