AFP, July 2003
STUTTGART, Germany (AFP) - Teenager Rafael Nadal tamed German qualifier Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 6-1 to move into the second round of the 765,000-euro ATP tournament.
The 17-year-old Spaniard has already proved himself in the heat of competition since the spring, defeating senior compatriots Albert Costa and Carlos Moya on clay.
His victory against 19-year-old Petzschner puts him into a contest Wednesday against Chile's sixth seed Fernando Gonzalez.
While Nadal is new to the ATP, he is learning fast - and applying his natural talents to the clay of the Weissenhof club. He comes to Stuttgart from his first career semi-final last weekend in Bastad, Sweden.
"Germany has been very good for me, I reached the final of a Challenger in Hamburg in February and had a great Masters in Hamburg.
"For the moment, Germany is fine, I like playing here," said the world Number 58.
Second seed Guillermo Coria improved to a 24-5 record this season as he stormed into the third round with a 7-6, 6-3 win over France's Paul-Henri Mathieu.
The Argentine picked up where he left off last May on German clay when he lifted the Hamburg Masters title and he also took revenge after losing to Mathieu at Long Island last summer.
"I came off a long break, so I was nervous out there," said the clay specialist. "It was a tough match, he played well."
The Roland Garros semi-finalist, and Monte Carlo finalist, now faces either 16th seed Ivan Ljubicic or Spain's David Ferrer who put out last weekend's champion at Bastad, Argentine Mariano Zabaleta 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.
Czech Jiri Vanek upset former French Open (news - web sites) winner Albert Costa, seeded eighth 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Costa admitted to some rustiness in his game after not playing since Roland Garros due to a knee injury.
"It was a little tough out there, I was out of my rhythm and confused. I tried my best, it was not enough. But at least I'm back out there now competing," said the Spaniard.
Crowd-pleaser Younes El Aynaoui, the Moroccan tenth seed, delivered another blow to Argentina with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win over Gaston Etlis while Belarus 13th seed Max Mirnyi hammered Spanish qualifier Marc Lopez 6-4, 6-3.
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