Nadal, Federer do double duty for doubles wins

TENNIS.COM - 8/11/2008 1:23:33 PM
BEIJING (AP)—Rafael Nadal took the court at 10:30 a.m. and hit his final shot more than 11 hours later. Roger Federer’s first day of Olympic tennis was slightly shorter but just as successful.
The two rivals, both bidding to become Olympic medalists for the first time, were winners in singles and doubles in the opening round Monday.
Playing the first match on center court, Nadal overcame numerous missed chances by sweeping the final four games to beat Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
The top-seeded Federer made his entrance less than an hour later. He beat Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-2, then received congratulations from one of the spectators, U.S. basketball star LeBron James.
Next came doubles.Federer leaped to whack an overhead slam on match point, sealing his win with Swiss teammate Stanislas Wawrinka over Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi of Italy, 7-5, 6-1.
A little later, Spaniards Nadal and Tommy Robredo beat Jonas Bjorkman and Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-3, 6-3.
Nadal played doubles but not singles at the Athens Olympics in 2004. At Beijing he’s staying in the athletes’ village, savoring the atmosphere and hoping to sustain a summer surge that has assured him of the No. 1 ranking next week.
“I am very happy to be here,” Nadal said. “Just trying to enjoy 100 percent the experience, and later try my best on court.”