Melbourne, Jan.18 (ANI): World Number One and Spaniard Rafael Nadal progressed into the second round of the Australian Open when his opponent Marcos Daniel was forced to retire after losing the first 11 games of a one-sided contest.
Nadal, who is chasing his fourth successive grand slam title after wins last year at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open, barely broke sweat as he surged into a 6-0, 5-0 lead before Daniel retired with an injury to his left knee.
"It's a terrible feeling and I wish him all the best," Nadal said.
The Guardian further quoted him, as saying: "You don't want to retire but if you are bad it is for the best so you can recover as quickly as possible. It's difficult when you have to pull out of a big tournament, last year was a difficult time for me."
Fourth-seed, Robin Soderling, also advanced to the second round with ease with a straight sets win over Potito Starace.
Soderling was surprisingly eliminated in the first round here last year but has avoided that ignominy this year with a routine 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over the Italian.
The 2009 US Open winner, Juan Martín Del Potro, also eased through to the second round with a 7-6 (15-13), 6-4, 6-4 with over Israel's Dudi Sela. (ANI)
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