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
Own goal enough for Al-Ahli as Matchday 24 win keeps pressure on Al-Nassr
- Al-Ahli eke out 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh to keep pressure on Al-Nassr
- Milan Borjan own goal separated the sides at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
RIYADH: Matchday 24 of the Saudi Pro League kicked off on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the delayed Matchday 10. With the FIFA Arab Cup, World Cup Qualifiers and FIFA World Cup sandwiching the 2025/26 campaign, resting periods have been few and far between outside the international breaks.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Al-Ahli opted to rest Riyad Mahrez and Enzo Millot for their clash with Al-Riyadh in the capital. Ramadan has further challenged the league schedule, with Matthias Jaissle’s side only arriving in Riyadh at 5:30pm — just hours before kick-off.
With their previous outing against Damac still dominating conversation, Jaissle was keen to ensure his players did not fall into the same trap — namely, being caught off guard by an opponent’s unexpectedly proactive style.
To his relief, Al-Ahli were largely in control this time. Yet the absence of Mahrez limited their creative spark. Relying heavily on Wenderson Galeno down the left, Al-Riyadh did well to crowd the Brazilian and deny him space to operate.
The bane of any expansive side is a compact 5-4-1, and that is precisely how Al-Riyadh’s recently appointed Brazilian manager Mauricio Dulac set his team up. A long-time assistant to former Al-Riyadh coach Odair Hellmann, this marks Dulac’s first managerial role.
Al-Ahli’s attacking routes were severely restricted throughout the first half. Al-Riyadh denied them the opportunity to press high, Mahrez’s trademark diagonals were absent, and finding Ivan Toney in the six-yard box proved a difficult task.
On the rare occasions the visitors broke the defensive line, Milan Borjan stood firm in goal — there was no getting past the Canadian.
That was until first-half stoppage time. Al-Ahli had one more weapon in their arsenal: set-pieces. A lofted delivery from Galeno’s free-kick met the head of Roger Ibañez, who nodded the ball towards goal. Borjan pushed it away, but it was too late — the ball crossed the line.
VAR intervened within seconds. Ibañez was a shoulder offside, and the opener was chalked off. It was a notable twist, particulary as the simultaneous fixture between Al-Fateh and Damac in Al-Ahsa featured a celebration aimed squarely at Al-Ahli and VAR.
Earlier in the week, Damac equalised late against Al-Ahli via Yakou Méïté, only for the goal to be overturned. Méïté reacted angrily and lashed out at referees, but Al-Ahli escaped with the three points. Méïté followed up with a goal against Al-Fateh, and celebrated by mimicking the referee’s VAR signal.
Back in Riyadh, Al-Ahli returned for the second half with renewed intensity. Zakaria Hawsawi grew more adventurous from left-back, threading lofted balls over the Al-Riyadh defence.
In the 53rd minute, he found Toney behind the last defender, but the Englishman’s volley was adeptly saved by Borjan. Five minutes later, Galeno latched onto Hawsawi’s cross and thought he had broken the deadlock — only for the linesman’s flag to rise once again.
Al-Ahli pushed, but as time ticked away, it seemed the coveted winner would elude them. However, once again, set pieces proved decisive.
In the 75th minute, a corner from Saleh Abu Al-Shamat was parried by Borjan, only for his effort to be bundled into his own net, sending the travelling supporters into a frenzy.
After last week’s scare, Al-Ahli knew they had to finish the job. Cue Ibañez, who surged forward from deep before slipping the ball through to Toney to seal the game with what would have been his 24th goal of the season. The run itself deserved a goal, but Toney was flagged inches offside.
Despite another difficult outing, Al-Ahli did enough to secure a clean sheet and grind out a 1-0 victory to move top on 59 points — one ahead of Al-Nassr, who are yet to play this weekend.
Elsewhere, Méïté’s equaliser was later cancelled out by a 77th-minute Mourad Batna penalty, in a match that saw fans commemorate him for surpassing 100 goal contributions with Al-Fateh.
Batna had earlier missed from the spot to the frustation of the home fans, but Al-Fateh’s undefeated streak against Damac at home remains intact as the encounter ended 1-1.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Hazem hosting Al-Ettifaq, Al-Ittihad welcoming Al-Khaleej, and one of Riyadh’s top derbies in Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal. All games kick-off at 10:00pm, in the league’s unified Ramadan schedule.
