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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 9:14 p.m., Saturday, March 15, 2008

Tennis: Nadal, Djokovic advance in Pacific Life Open

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Defending champion Rafael Nadal, Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic and women's top seed Ana Ivanovic all advanced to the third round of the Pacific Life Open with straight set wins today.

Nadal, the No. 2 seed, beat qualifier Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, 6-3, 6-3.

The third-seeded Djokovic bested Italy's Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-6 (3) on another day plagued by cold, gusty winds.

"You always want to pick up the best things in the match and keep the high level of performance," said Djokovic, who made his debut in the ATP Tour's top 10 after losing to Nadal in last year's Pacific Life final.

"But it was a very ugly match to watch, a lot of unforced errors," he said. "It was so windy, you couldn't get any rhythm."

American James Blake, the No. 9 seed, was a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 winner over Marc Gicquel of France.

On the women's side, No. 3 seed Jelena Jankovic, No. 6 Marion Bartoli and two-time event winner Lindsay Davenport joined Ivanovic in the third round. Ivanovic of Serbia defeated Romania's Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-1, 5-7, 6-0. Jankovic, also of Serbia, beat Ahsha Rolle 6-0, 6-2; France's Bartoli beat Elena Vesnina of Russia, 6-0, 6-4; and Davenport had taken the first set from Gisela Dulko, 6-2, when the Argentine retired due to a strained right quadriceps.

Davenport was happy to end the match because of the conditions on the court.

"I feel fine with one set," she said.

Jankovic, however, said the weather helped her.

"In the windy conditions, you have to be really focused and really try to move your feet," Jankovic said. "That's what I did today, so I'm really glad with my performance despite the conditions. I'm happy to get through."

Ivanovic, the Australian Open runner-up, played well at the start and finish of her match with Olaru, but lost her composure in the middle set.

"I just struggled to find my game a little bit," she said. "I wasn't moving enough, and when it's a windy day we really have to focus on footwork and moving the feet and going around the ball, and I didn't do that well."

There was one minor upset on the men's side, with Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beating No. 10 seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4.