After some rusty play and some long matches in Monte Carlo Rafael Nadal was gifted an easy 6-1, 6-1 second round victory over compatriot Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Prior to last year when Nadal did not play due to injury, Rafa had won the 500 point tournament five consecutive years in a row. Now the world number one is looking for six titles from six appearances to try and distance himself in the rankings from Novak Djokovic who is nipping at his heels.
The match lasted just 66 minutes, Nadal now 25-0 at the tournament since 2005 (26-1 lifetime record).
“I’m feeling good. Winning in Monte-Carlo gives you a lot of confidence. Of course the weekend was hard both physically and 
mentally. This is a different tournament, I’m playing at home.
The first match is always difficult and I managed to play at a high level I think against a player that is not easy. I’m happy to be back at the Godo and to get through the first round, and I’m happy with the standard of play I had on court today.”
“I played quite a good match. At times he made more mistakes than probably he usually would and I was able to make the most of that.”
