Spanish armada sails out of Auckland contest

Who would be a Spanish tennis player in Auckland?
Three players from the victorious Spanish Davis Cup team which defeated the United States last month were knocked out in the first round of the Heineken Open in Auckland yesterday.
In two upsets both second seed Tommy Robredo and seventh seed Juan Carlos Ferrero were defeated in three sets, each leading by a set in their respective matches.
Both lost to qualifiers.
Ferrero took the first set 7-6 against Jan Hernych but then came up against a barrage of winners as Hernych took his game to another level and won the second set 6-1 and then took a 5-1 lead in the third.
Ferrero dug deep and fought back to 3-5 and looked like he might get the match back on serve as Hernych tightened. But the man from the Czech Republic steadied his nerve and closed out the No. 7 seed 6-7 6-1 6-3.
Unlike Ferrero, Robredo was in total control of his match against another qualifier, Raemon Sluiter.
He lead 6-4 4-1 and looked to be cruising to an easy victory. However, he got a little loose and Sluiter pounced.
Sluiter, who was a quarterfinalist in Auckland in 2004 as a qualifier, came back to take the second set 6-4 and then continued to serve rockets in the third.
He broke the world No. 13 at 4-4 and then served out the match for a 4-6 6-4 6-4 win.
For an established top 20 player like Robredo, it was a frustrating way to lose a match.
"I was leading a set and 4-1 and I didn't finish the match when I should", said a disappointed Robredo.
On the other hand, Sluiter felt a shift in momentum.
"Of course Tommy's level went a little bit down and my level definitely went a bit up, but I got loose a little bit more and I went a little bit more for my shots, which is the way I am supposed to play", said the powerful Dutchman.
The third big Spanish player in the draw, Rafael Nadal, also had a rough day.
In a replay of the 2004 final, Nadal squared off against No 3 seed Dominik Hrbaty.
In front of a near packed house, Nadal and Hrbaty played an intense first set which Hrbaty won 6-3. But it was clear that all was not well with Nadal.
At 3-4 down he took an injury timeout and then after Hrbaty served out the set Nadal withdrew with an illness.
Even though he was disappointed with having to withdraw, Nadal knew it was the right decision.
"To stop was better because I got scared," world No 51 said.
Rounding out the miserable day for the Spanish Davis Cup team, the fourth member, Carlos Moya, lost to Radek Stepanek from the Czech Republic 2-6 6-4 6-2 in the first round of the Medibank International in Sydney.-NZPA