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(Releads after Nadal v Bracciali, writes through) By James Eve ROME, May 9 - World number two Rafael Nadal
launched his bid for a third successive Rome Masters title with
a below-par 6-4 6-2 win over Italian wild card Daniele Bracciali
on Wednesday. The 20-year-old Spaniard, who received a bye into the second
round, was joined in the last 16 by third seed Andy Roddick, who
beat former French Open champion Gaston Gaudio 6-1 7-6, and
fifth seed Novak Djokovic, who held his nerve to edge out Robin
Soderling 3-6 6-4 6-3. Fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko takes on fellow Russian and
former world number one Marat Safin in a later match. Nadal, who is aiming to equal Thomas Muster's professional
era record of three wins at the claycourt tournament, struggled
to find his rhythm in the early stages of the match with
Bracciali -- though he put his slow start into context at the
post-match news conference. "I felt a bit dizzy, and it was difficult for the first
eight games, but after that it was fine," said Nadal. Asked whether he was sick, Nadal replied: "I don't know. I
felt a bit dizzy also before the match, but the doctor said it
wasn't anything. I think it's OK." Nadal will have to be closer to his best against his next
opponent, 15th seed Mikhail Youzhny, who has won their last two
meetings at last season's U.S. Open and the hardcourt tournament
in Dubai in February. "He's one of the more difficult players for me," admitted
Nadal. "I must focus on me, play my best tennis. If I do that I can
win. If I don't he will have a good opportunity to beat me." STRONG FAVOURITE While Nadal was always a strong favourite to beat Bracciali,
Roddick had seemed at risk of going out against claycourt
specialist Gaudio. The American, who was playing his first tournament since
pulling out of the Miami Masters with a hamstring injury in
March, dominated the early stages of his match but had to fight
hard to seal the second-set tie-break. Gaudio -- who has slipped to 71 in the rankings since
winning Roland Garros in 2004 -- saved four match points before
double-faulting to gift Roddick a fifth, which he converted by
coming into the net to tuck away a winning volley. "This is my most challenging surface, so if there was ever a
time to beat him and be a little proud, I guess it's on this
surface," said Roddick, who next plays Juan Ignacio Chela. Roddick's record of one quarter-final in his last four
visits to the Italian capital makes him an unlikely candidate
for the title. Djokovic, however, remains a good outside bet. The 19-year-old Serb arrived in Rome full of confidence
after winning last week's claycourt event in Estoril -- his
third title of the season. He gave a resilient performance against Soderling, holding
off a series of break points before grabbing a decisive break in
the eighth game of the deciding set. Sixth seed Fernando Gonzalez and seventh seed Tommy Rodredo
also progressed on a good day for the top-ranked players. The only seeds to fall were ninth seed James Blake, who lost
to Chilean claycourter Nicolas Massu, and 13th seed Richard
Gasquet, who crashed out 6-4 6-7 6-4 against Italian wild card
Filippo Volandri, who next faces Roger Federer.
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