The number one and two seeds in the 2012 Qatar Open Men’s Singles tournament both came through their second round matches to claim a place in the quarter-finals, on Wednesday 4th January 2012, in Doha.
Rafael Nadal (1) defeated Germany’s Denis Gremelmayr in straight sets, winning 6-2 6-2. Nadal’s ferocious service returning proved to be the difference between the two players, and the Spaniard looked to be getting close to his best at times during the match.
Swiss ace Roger Federer (2) was also in scintillating form to overcome the challenge posed by 25 year old Croatian Grega Zemlja, who is ranked 116 in the World by the ATP. Federer dropped just five games en route to a 6-2 6-3 straight-set victory, which saw the Swiss smash five aces, though Federer will hope to increase his first serve percentages in the later rounds – he managed only 52% of 1st serves today.
All of the other players to have made it through the second round thus far were seeded, including third seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (3), who defeated Flavio Cipolla 7-6 6-3.
Federer will face 38th ranked Andreas Seppi (8) in the quarter-final, while Nadal will meet Mikhail Youzhny (7), who is ranked 35 in the world.
While many treat the Qatar Open as a warm-up and curtain raiser for the first “major” of the season, the Australian Open, with prize money of USD $1,024,000, and two of the top three players in the world present, there is still everything to play for in Doha.
In This Story: Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi is an Italian professional tennis player. He has reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18.
Qatar is a peninsular Arab country whose terrain comprises arid desert and a long Persian (Arab) Gulf shoreline of beaches and dunes. Also on the coast is the capital, Doha, known for its futuristic skyscrapers and other ultramodern architecture inspired by ancient Islamic design, such as the limestone Museum of Islamic Art. The museum sits on the city’s Corniche waterfront promenade.
Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 2 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Nadal has won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the second-most in history for a male player, as well as 35 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, 21 ATP Tour 500 titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles and the 2016 Olympic gold medal in doubles. In addition, Nadal has held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 209 weeks, including being the year-end No. 1 five times.
In majors, Nadal has won a record twelve French Open titles, four US Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and one Australian Open title, and won at least one Grand Slam every year for a record ten consecutive years (2005–2014). Nadal has won 85 career titles overall, including the most outdoor titles in the Open Era (83) and a record 59 titles on clay. With 81 consecutive wins on clay, Nadal holds the record for the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Nadal has been involved in five Davis Cup titles with Spain, and currently has a 29-win streak and 29–1 record in singles matches at the event. In 2010, at the age of 24, he became the seventh male player and the youngest of five in the Open Era to achieve the singles Career Grand Slam. Nadal is the second male player after Andre Agassi to complete the singles Career Golden Slam, as well as the second male player after Mats Wilander to have won at least two Grand Slams on all three surfaces (grass, hard court and clay).
