Serena reigns supreme while Nadal survives Beijing scare

American tennis superstar Serena Williams regained the world number one ranking on Tuesday with an easy win at the China Open, while Rafael Nadal survived a scare in his opening match.

Defending champions Andy Roddick and Jelena Jankovic were both upset at the 6.6-million-dollar tournament, a combined ATP/WTA event aimed at bolstering China’s position as a key tennis marketplace.

Russians Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva advanced to the round of 16 in the women’s draw, as did their countryman Marat Safin, on a day of blinding A-list star power at the Olympic tennis centre.

Williams, the second seed here and current world number two, breezed past Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3, 6-2, into the round of 16, ensuring that her name will be atop the WTA rankings when the new list is issued on Monday.

The path to the top spot was cleared for the 28-year-old Williams, who last held the top ranking in April, when current number one Dinara Safina crashed out of the tournament on Monday, losing to Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai.

“It feels pretty good. I’m really excited. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I’m obviously happy to be there because I feel like I’ve been working so hard all year,” Williams told reporters after the match.

Nadal, the top seed and world number two, held off a fierce challenge from former Australian Open champion Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, winning in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The hard-hitting baseliners remained even throughout much of the match, delighting the crowd with long rallies and hitting amazing angles with their ground strokes.

The 23-year-old Nadal got the upper hand by taking the first set, but the Cypriot, who won the China Open in 2006, bounced right back to take the second.

At 4-4 in the third set, the left-handed Spaniard pounced, breaking Baghdatis and then serving out the match, exulting when the Cypriot’s final stroke landed in the net.

Roddick, the third seed here, stumbled out in straight sets to Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot, 6-2, 6-4, while China’s Peng Shuai defeated the eighth seed Jankovic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

BEIJING, AFP