Nadal, Ferrer deliver early Spanish success in Shanghai

Nadal overcame early nerves to kick-start his campaign 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 over Richard Gasquet.

 Ferrer came good in his first outing at a year-end extravaganza, stunning world number three Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 with the Serb saving a match point before going down.

 "It wasn't my day, this is sport," said Djokovic. "We all have to get used to the wins and losses.

 "I was the favorite in this match, but he proved that he's a great player and absolutely he deserved to win. I didn't play on the level I was supposed to play.

 "But I'm still not out of the chances to get to the semi-final."

   Nadal kept his career record a perfect 4-0 over Gasquet in a battle between 21-year-olds lasting just over two hours.

 "I was a little bit nervous in the beginning," said the three-time Roland Garros champion. "I started with a few doubts.

 "But I began to play a little bit more aggressive. The break early in the second set was important.

 "I finished better than I started," he said.

 Nadal showed no signs of the knee tendinitis which had plagued him over the late summer and autumn as he took the first round-robin victory in the Gold Group. "Everything is perfect," he said of his fitness.

 The Spaniard, who will become the first since rankings began in 1973 to finished number two for three consecutive years (behind Roger Federer), produced a torrid final-set effort, winning 15 of 17 points on serve.

 Nadal struck 29 winners and only 20 unforced errors as he resumed his grip on Gasquet's game.

 "He wasn't playing incredible, but he's a fighter," said the Frenchman who only qualified into the eight-man Shanghai field a week ago in Paris.

 "I missed some shots - when you do that against him, the set is finished. I would have had to play a perfect match to beat him."

   Nadal, who first qualified for the elite season-ending event in 2005 but had to withdraw injured before his first match, lost a Shanghai semi-final in 2006 to Federer.

 "This year I got closer to him," Nadal said of his longtime runner-up status to the Swiss. "But "closer" means 995 ranking points.

 "That's not very close, that's a lot of points."

   Federer begins his campaign for a fourth year-end title from the past five editions on Monday when he carries a 10-0 record over Fernando Gonzalez into their opening match in the Red group.

 That match will be a re-run of January's Australian Open final. By Bill Scott, dpa