Nadal gets confidence boost at China Open

Top seed Rafael Nadal gave himself a confidence-booster with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Taiwan's Wang Yeu-tzuoo in the first round of the China Open yesterday.

Fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Russia's Dmitry Tursunov 6-4 7-6 in a second round clash to become the first man to reach the quarter-finals.

Sixth seed Ferrero will meet Argentina's David Nalbandian in the next round after the third seed overpowered Israel's Amir Hadad 6-4 6-0.

World number two Nadal looked sharp in his first match since his third round exit at the US Open, the 19-year-old triumphing in a shade under 90 minutes on his first appearance in Asia.

"My confidence was low after I lost to American James Blake in New York," Nadal said. "But it wasn't very complicated today. I took my chances early and set the tone."

Nadal, bidding for his 10th title of the year, will play American Justin Gimelstob next. Nadal has already qualified for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Former world number one Ferrero had too much guile for Tursunov, the man who ended Briton Tim Henman's Wimbledon dream this year.

Tursunov squandered two set points at 5-5 in the second set and then a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak evaporated as Ferrero rattled off six straight points to clinch victory.