Rafael Nadal got his ATP World Tour Finals campaign off to a winning start with a 6-3 6-2 victory over his fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.
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Breaks of serve were traded in the opening two matches of the contest, but Nadal made further inroads on the Ferrer serve later in the set to open up a 3-2 advantage. From there, he pressed home his lead, before breaking again to claim a one-set winning margin.
Ferrer, who served well when the two players met in Paris last week, struggled to land his first serves in during the second set and Nadal was able to take full advantage by winning the first five games.
Nadal's run of seven games in succession was then ended as Ferrer held and the 31-year-old then broke for the first time since the second game of the contest.
It only proved to be a momentarily lapse from Nadal, though, as he broke at the next time of asking to win in one hour and 15 minutes.
Liam Apicella
