Nadal beaten, 6-0, 6-1, by Youzhny in 57 minutes
Rafael Nadal, fatigued from a nearly four-hour match the previous day, was routed by fourth-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, 6-0, 6-1, Sunday in the final of the Chennai Open in India.
The 19th-ranked Youzhny clinched the fourth title of his career by surprising the No. 2 Nadal, who managed to hold his service only once.
The 57-minute contest turned out to be a letdown for Nadal, who needed 3 hours 54 minutes to overcome fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya in what was the longest three-set match on the ATP Tour in 15 years.
“Maybe I was a bit tired after the long semifinal, but I lost the final because Mikhail played very well,” said Nadal, who hasn’t won a title since July.
The error-prone Nadal saw his hopes of starting the year with a title vanish as the Russian hit winners from the baseline and executed deft drops. Nadal’s only hold came in the second game of the second set.
“Rafa was not Rafa,” Youzhny said. “I did not win today, it was Rafa who lost. I did not expect it to be so easy. I was lucky as he just couldn’t move and couldn’t play.”
Nadal took a medical time-out during the second set, but said he had no fitness problem.
“I had no injury, just wanted the trainer’s help in overcoming tiredness,” he said. “I lost in the semifinal last year and have now played the final. Next year, I’ll win the title here.”
Amelie Mauresmo and Li Na withdrew from the Sydney International, the last major tuneup event before the Jan. 14 start of the Australian Open.
Mauresmo has a left adductor strain and Li has a right knee injury, tournament officials said.
Mauresmo won the tournament in 2000 and was a finalist in 2004.
Li, the last player into the main draw, won the Australian women’s hardcourt on the Gold Coast on Saturday in her first tournament back after a six-month layoff because of a rib injury.
In first-round women’s play, Lucie Safarova beat Alicia Molik, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (12-10).
Casey Dellacqua advanced to the second round of the Hobart International in Australia after her opponent, eighth-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues, retired because of a lower back injury. Dellacqua was ahead, 5-4, in the first set.
In other matches, Elena Vesnina beat Akiko Morigami, 6-4, 7-5, and Eleni Daniilidou defeated Pauline Parmentier, 6-3, 6-4.
WINTER SPORTS
Matt wins slalom; Miller, Ligety unable to finish
Austrian Mario Matt won the men’s World Cup slalom and Americans Ted Ligety and Bode Miller failed to finish in Adelboden, Switzerland.
Matt, a slalom specialist, finished with a total time of 1 minute 48.45 seconds, 0.1 of a second ahead of teammate Benjamin Raich. Felix Neureuther of Germany was third, 0.14 of a second back.
Ligety, who crashed Saturday, had tied for third in the first run. He straddled a gate and went out in the second run.
Miller made an error at one of the first gates, then lost his footing a second time and failed to finish the first run. On Saturday, he missed a gate during the first run of the giant slalom.
Jimmy Cochran was the only American to finish. He came in eighth, 1.27 seconds behind the leader.
Several top contenders missed out on a second run Sunday in a repeat of hazardous snow conditions that caused a third of the field to crash out of the giant slalom event the day before.
Marc Berthod and Daniel Albrecht of Switzerland, who came in first and second in the giant slalom, each went out in the first run. Kalle Palander of Finland, who is sixth in the overall World Cup standings, also fell victim to the slushy conditions.
Marlies Schild won a World Cup slalom event in Spindleruz Mlyn, Czech Republic, for her third win in the discipline this season, and American Julia Mancuso was ninth and Lindsey Vonn failed to finish.
The Austrian posted the fastest second run to win with a combined time of 1:46.35. Veronika Zuzulova of Slovakia finished second in 1:46.67, a career best. Maria Riesch of Germany, fastest in the opening run, was third in 1:47.53.
Janne Ahonen became the first ski jumper to win the prestigious Four Hills tournament for a fifth time in Bischofshofen, Austria.
Ahonen, 30, also won the Four Hills tournament in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2006, when he shared victory with Jakub Janda of the Czech Republic.
JURISPRUDENCE
Rider is arrested on outstanding warrants
Former Lakers guard Isaiah Rider was in custody on outstanding arrest warrants after Berkeley police responded to a report of a disturbance between a taxi driver and a passenger.
Officers arrived on the scene to find the passenger was Rider, 36. They arrested him on a no-bail warrant issued by Oakland police for unlawful firearm possession and another warrant for grand theft.
Rider has a history of arrests, including a 2006 Marin County case in which he pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and battery.
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