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MIAMI (Florida), March 25: World number two Rafael Nadal of Spain and third seed Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium were eliminated from the 6.9 million-dollar WTA and ATP event here on Friday while Andre Agassi withdrew.
Teen star Nadal, the only man to defeat Swiss world number one Roger Federer this year, lost 12 of the final 16 games as compatriot Carlos Moya rallied for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 triumph after one hour and 42 minutes.
Moya advanced to a third-round matchup against Argentina’s Agustin Calleri, who beat France’s Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-4.
Nadal, 19, reached the semi-finals last week at Indian Wells but lost to American James Blake and praised Moya’s performance.
Former world number one Henin-Hardenne, who has won 2006 titles at Sydney and Dubai, fell 7-5, 6-4 to Meghann Shaughnessy. The American will next play Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson, who beat France’s Stephanie Foretz 6-4, 7-5.
Henin-Hardenne surrendered a late break to make an early exit.
Agassi, who turns 36 next month, pulled out just hours before he was scheduled to face Belgian Christophe Rochus in a second-round match. Agassi, a six-time champion here, was seeded 10th.
Agassi had already said he was skipping the European clay-court season that begins next month. He has played three tournaments so far this year with his best showing the Delray Beach quarter-finals.
Rochus advanced by beating German lucky loser Bjorn Phau 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
World number one Amelie Mauresmo of France held form with a 6-0, 6-0 romp over Samantha Stosur.
The Australian Open champion needed only 44 minutes to dispatch the Australian and reach a third-round matchup against compatriot Marion Bartoli, who defeated Russia’s Anastasiya Yakimova 6-1, 6-2.
She seeks her 23rd career championship and fourth crown of the year, having taken titles at Paris and Antwerp in addition to her Grand Slam triumph in Melbourne.
Results
Men (first round): Dmitry Tursunov bt Paul Capdeville 6-2, 6-1; Albert Montanes bt Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-2; Feliciano Lopez bt Alex Kuznetsov 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; George Bastl bt Daniele Bracciali 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-4.
Second round: Agustin Calleri bt Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-4; Robby Ginepri bt Kenneth Carlsen 6-2, 7-5; Ivan Ljubicic bt Robin Vik 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3; Marcos Baghdatis bt Alex Bogomolov 6-2, 6-4; Nikolay Davydenko bt Mardy Fish 6-4, 7-5; Filippo Volandri bt Michael Llodra 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2; Carlos Moya bt Rafael Nadal 2-6, 6-1, 6-1; Fernando Gonzalez bt Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1); Radek Stepanek bt Xavier Malisse 6-1, 6-4; Mario Ancic bt Kevin Kim 6-3, 2-6, 6-4; Nicolas Kiefer bt Fabrice Santoro 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-4
Women (first round): Li Na bt Akiko Morigami 6-1, 6-2; Marta Domachowska bt Yuan Meng 6-4, 6-4; Zheng Jie bt Varvara Lepchenko 7-5, 6-3
Second round: Sofia Arvidsson bt Stephanie Foretz 6-4, 7-5; Meghann Shaughnessy bt Justine Henin-Hardenne 7-5, 6-4; Marion Bartoli bt Anastasiya Yakimova 6-1, 6-2; Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-2; Nadia Petrova bt Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 6-2, 6-1; Ai Sugiyama bt Julia Schruff 6-1, 6-1; Amelie Mauresmo bt Samantha Stosur 6-0, 6-0; Katarina Srebotnik bt Mashona Washington 6-3, 6-0; Alona Bondarenko bt Anabel Medina Garrigues 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; Daniela Hantuchova bt Zuzana Ondraskova 6-3, 5-7, 6-3; Eleni Daniilidou bt Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-4; Patty Schnyder bt Marianan Diaz-Oliva 6-3, 6-2; Elena Likhovtseva bt Shuai Peng 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Ana Ivanovic bt Iveta Benesova 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 6-2; Martina Hingis bt Tiantian Sun 6-3, 6-2; Jamea Jackson bt Gisela Dulko 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.—AFP
