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Paris, France - Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal and former runner-up Novak Djokovic were a pair of easy first-round winners, while third-seeded Stan Wawrinka was a stunning loser Monday at the French Open. Brandon Spikes Youth Jersey . The world No. 1 Nadal improved to an incredible 60-1 at Roland Garros by cruising past American journeyman Robby Ginepri 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 on Court Lenglen. The reigning French and U.S. Open champion has won four straight and eight of the last nine French Open titles. He beat David Ferrer in last years all- Spanish finale in Paris. Up next for Nadal will be rising Austrian Dominic Thiem. The 2012 finalist Djokovic smacked 40 winners in blowing past Portuguese Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 on Court Chatrier. The struggling Sousa has now lost his last eight matches on tour. The players were forced to stop and start because of wet conditions in Paris on Monday. Djokovic was leading 4-1 when rain halted play, but the match resumed about an hour later. The former No. 1 and six-time Grand Slam champ Djokovic lost to Nadal in the final two years ago and succumbed to the mighty Spaniard in an epic semifinal here last year, including a dramatic 9-7 fifth set. Up next for Djokovic will be Frances Jeremy Chardy. Lanky Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez shocked the Swiss Australian Open champion Wawrinka in 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 fashion. It marked the first time in seven years that a third seed exited the French draw in the opening round since American Andy Roddick did so in 2007. The last man to win the Aussie Open and lose in the first round of the French Open was Petr Korda in 1998. Also on Monday, Slovak and recent Munich clay court titlist Martin Klizan ousted ninth-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-2. The recent Madrid runner-up to Nadal, Nishikori, had been nursing a back injury in recent weeks. Nishikori is the highest-ranked Japanese man in history, at No. 10 in the world, one spot lower than his career high. Fourteenth-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini eased past German Andreas Beck 6-4, 6-4, 6-1, while 17th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo, of Spain, came back to overcome Brit James Ward 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 and 18th-seeded Ernests Gulbis fought back to best Pole Lukasz Kubot 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-1. Gulbis is fresh off his clay title in Nice, his second title on French soil this season. Meanwhile, 25th-seeded Croat Marin Cilic topped Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-0, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6); 26th-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez defeated Bosnian Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3; 27th-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut doused Italian Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 7-5, 6-2; 29th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon whipped Croat Ante Pavic 6-1, 6-1, 6-3; and Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili knocked out 30th-seeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. The first marathon of the fortnight saw Argentine Facundo Bagnis outlast Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 18-16, including a 2-hour, 23- minute final set. Total match time was 4 hours, 26 minutes. Several other men reached the second round, including Thiem, American Donald Young, Frenchmen Kenny De Schepper, Benoit Paire and Adrian Mannarino, Spaniard Marcel Granollers, Austrian Jurgen Melzer, and Dutchman Robin Haase, who rolled past former world No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 6-4, 6-2. Thiem dismissed Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, while the left- handed Young edged out Israeli veteran Dudi Sela 6-1, 2-6, 6-1, 6-0. The first round is scheduled to conclude Tuesday, including matches for a fifth-seeded Ferrer, seventh-seeded Andy Murray and 11th-seeded rising Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov. Ferrer will take on Dutchman Igor Sijsling, while the Wimbledon champion Murray will meet Kazakhstans Andrey Golubev and Dimitrov will tangle with 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic, who was a runner-up in Duesseldorf last week. Mario Williams Youth Jersey . This week they discuss the NHL paying Wayne Gretzky, fighting in hockey, the "Group of Death" and the Buffalo Sabres disaster season. Fred Jackson Camo Jersey . Ecclestone dismissed on Wednesday any clash between the series, after the top executive at Texas Motor Speedway called F1 "arrogant" for scheduling the United States Grand Prix in Austin on the same weekend that his track hosts NASCAR in Fort Worth. VIERA, Fla. -- After dropping down a few bunts in the batting cage, Stephen Strasburg strolls over to a back field to take part in some fielding drills. He walks with his head down, avoiding eye contact but not going out of his way to keep from being noticed. Still, he breezes right past dozens of Washington Nationals fans, who seem oblivious to being in the presence of a national phenomenon from just two years ago. Remember when everyone had a severe case of Strasanity? Here was this big kid with the 100 mph fastball, blowing away big league hitters in the nations capital not long after leaving college. Then, suddenly, he was gone, sidelined for part of one season and most of another after blowing out his right elbow. "At that age, you feel invincible," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Tuesday, standing on one of the practice fields next to Space Coast Stadium. "Then youve got to tell a guy, Youre going to have Tommy John surgery and miss an entire year of your career. Its tough." Distraught at first, Strasburg got through the rehab and returned to make five starts for the Nationals at the end of last season, not quite as dominant as before but still better than most. This year, hes really ready to shine. The hype? Hell gladly cede that to someone else. "I think my family and friends enjoyed it more than I did," Strasburg said at his locker after a two-hour workout. "I was just so thankful to have the opportunity to accomplish my dream of pitching in the big leagues. I accomplished that. Now, Ive got to move on to the next step: staying here and being successful." The spotlight, it would seem, has been turned on another Nationals player of enormous potential. Sure, Bryce Harper has yet to play a game above the Double-A level. Even so, theres already plenty of fans at spring training wearing his No. 34 jersey, eager to get a glimpse of the 19-year-old outfielder who followed Strasburg as Washingtons second straight No. 1 draft pick and brashly proclaimed his intention to claim a starting job. "Thats just the nature of the beast," Strasburg said. "Hes kind of going through a little bit of what I went through. But its understandable. I dont expect there to be hype my entire career. Hopefully, its more about expectations -- and hopefully high expectations -- because I perform well. Im good dealing with my own expectations." The 23-year-old Strasburg is fully recovered from his surgery but still under some limitations. Taking no chances with such a national treasure, the Nationals wont let him pitch more than about 160 innings this season, trying to ensure he doesnt re-injure himself. Also, theyve assembled a much deeper rotation around him, acquiring Gio Gonzalez (16-12) and Edwin Jackson (12-9). "The biggest thing this year is going to be eliminating the type of hype Stephen had two years ago," Washington shortstop Ian Desmond said. "Our rotation is so good, its not fair to the rest of the guys for Stephen to be singled out. I think hes just going to be a nice addition to our staff." The Nationals also have Jordan Zimmermann (8-11), John Lannan (10-13) and Chien-Ming Wang, a twwo-time 19-game winner with the New York Yankees before injuries sidetracked his career. Anthony Dixon Youth Jersey. "Theyre all going to help each other," Desmond said. "Stephen is such an accomplished kid. Hes accomplished so much in his life already. He may have something to offer to the other guys. But I think guys like Edwin might have something to offer Stephen. I think theyre all going to feed off each and I definitely think all of them are going to benefit, maybe Stephen more than anyone else." Make no mistake, though, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Strasburg is the one expected to lead the Nationals rotation for the next decade or so. After a brilliant career at San Diego State and a stint on the U.S. bronze-medal team at the 2008 Olympics, he was drafted by Washington and agreed to a record $15.1 million, four-year contract just ahead of the signing deadline. In his first minor-league game with Double-A Harrisburg in 2010, ESPN broke into its regular coverage when he was on the mound. Within two months, Strasburg was called up by the Nationals, perhaps the most-celebrated pitching prospect in the history of the game. He certainly did nothing to lessen the expectations, striking out a team-record 14 Pittsburgh hitters in his major league debut. Strasburg made a dozen starts that season, with dominating results. He was 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA, striking out 92 in just 68 innings. More impressive for someone of his size who throws so hard, he had only 17 walks. "Hes a big, strong horse of a kid with terrific stuff who can still pound the strike zone," Rizzo said. "He has remarkable command with remarkable stuff. Thats what separates him from a lot of other hard-throwing, big-bodied pitchers." Once he got over the shock of being hurt, Strasburg began to absorb some valuable lessons. He knew he needed to get stronger and maintain a more diligent, consistent workout program, so his mechanics would hold up over a long season. He also realized that it wasnt necessary to strike out 14 or 15 hitters every game, that he might be better off getting an infield grounder on a first-pitch changeup that going for the strikeout with three 100 mph fastballs. Coming back last September, his strikeout ratio was down (24 Ks in 24 innings) but he allowed only 15 hits and two walks. "He has a better idea of how to pitch. Every pitch didnt have to be with maximum effort," Rizzo said. "I think the mental side of his game increased last year. That will help the physical side of his game." As for the hype, someone else can take that. Notes: Nationals OF Jayson Werth skipped Tuesdays workout because of muscle spasms in his back. Manager Davey Johnson does not think the injury is serious enough for Werth to miss any spring training games, but decided not to take any chances. Werth was among several Washington players who attended Monday nights Daytona 500 NASCAR race. ... LHP Sammy Solis, one of Washingtons top pitching prospects, will need Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. He was in camp as part of the accelerated development program, but pain he first experienced a couple of months ago in the Arizona Fall League returned during a throwing session last Friday. Wholesale Jerseys ' ' ' |
