Nadal admits to nerves prior to Monte Carlo start

Clay king Rafael Nadal has admitted that he is nervous about his Wednesday start at the Monte Carlo Masters, a fortnight after quitting with knee pain prior to his last match.

"I'm scared because this is the start to an important season for me," said the Spaniard, who is bidding for an unprecedented eighth straight title on the clay of the principality. "Hopefully it will work well."

Nadal, seeded second behind Novak Djokovic, will play Jarkko Nieminen in the second round after the Finn beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).

In first-round play on Monday, all three seeds on court advanced.

Spain's number 13 seed Fernando Verdasco, a 2010 finalist against Nadal, beat Belgian Olivier Rochus 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, while 15th-ranked Austrian Jurgen Melzer defeated Lukas Kubot 6-2, 7-5.

Alexandr Dolgopolov, the number 16 seed, put out Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-2.

Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, ranked 352 in the world after a long absence with a knee injury, crushed Donald Young 6-0, 6-1 to leave the American winless in his last five events.

Australian Bernard Tomic reached the second round by beating Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-4, 6-3 to claim his first ATP-level victory on clay.

Tomic won a qualifying match in Moncao a year ago but lost out to Julien Benneteau for a spot in the main draw.

"I'm starting to learn how to play on clay, that's the important thing," said the 36th-ranked Australian.

"If I play my tennis, (clay specialists) struggle with my game even on clay.

"This next six weeks will be very interesting to see how I go. And I think can do pretty good."

After quitting before his Miami semi-final against Andy Murray on March 30 due to pain in his left knee, Nadal returned to Spain for injections and treatment of the tendon problem that was causing him grief.

He was unable to train for a fortnight and only got back onto the clay in the middle of last week.

"Now it's time to see how good it is," the 10-time Grand Slam-winner said.

"I need to be able to play at my top level and run without thinking about the knee. I've put all the effort in and hopefully it is well and I can train in the right conditions. That's the most important thing for me today."

The king of clay, whose last trophy came at the 2011 French Open, played down the fact that his last success came 10 months ago.

"I haven't won a title, but how many finals have I played?" asked Nadal, who has appeared in four finals since his Roland Garros triumph.

"It all depends on your calendar. If I played more on clay, like in South America or after Wimbledon, I would have better chances of winning titles.

"There are players there (at lower-profile events) who can beat you, but the chances are better. But I don't make my calendar to win titles, I want to compete at the most important events against the best players of the world.

"I'm not playing only on my best surface, but to try and win titles. That makes it more difficult. But I don't feel pressure just because I haven't won since Roland Garros."

Success brings confidence, not pressure: Nadal

Novak Djokovic comes into the Australian Open final shouldering the expectations of defending champion and with a huge target on his back after winning back-to-back Grand Slam titles.

But Rafa Nadal would swap places with him in a heartbeat.

The Spaniard, who will face Djokovic in Sunday's Melbourne final, believes the world number one's stellar run in 2011 would bring him confidence, not added pressure.

"It's a fantastic situation to be in," Nadal told reporters on Saturday.

"It's really not a tough one.

"When you are coming with that confidence everything is a little bit easier."

Djokovic kicked off a career-defining year by winning the Australian Open and went on to win Wimbledon and the US Open while compiling a remarkable 70-6 record over the season.

Nadal knows perhaps better than anyone what kind of impact such a streak of success can have on a player's psyche.

The Spaniard came into last year's Melbourne Park tournament seeking the 'Rafa Slam' after winning the final three majors of 2010.

While he went out in the quarter-finals to David Ferrer, pressure had nothing to do with it, he says.

"I was a little bit unlucky here last year when I played for the grand slam," he added.

"I didn't feel extra pressure. That's true. I had an injury in the quarter-finals so I was out.

"I think for (Djokovic) it's an advantage, not a pressure, to be in that situation."

'BIG, BIG TEST'

Nadal, who arrived at his news conference an hour late after getting the time wrong, came into the year's first Grand Slam under an injury cloud with shoulder and knee problems but has looked stronger as the tournament has gone on.

Djokovic, meanwhile, has complained of allergy issues and his breathing looked laboured in recent games, particularly in the early stages of his five-set semi-final win over Britain's Andy Murray on Friday.

Nadal was sceptical there was anything wrong with the Serb.

"It's funny, I saw the match yesterday on TV ... and they show images from two hours, 50 (minutes) before and it seems like he was destroyed," he said.

"Two hours, 50 later he was in perfect condition. So it's difficult to imagine he has these problems."

Nadal holds the upper hand against Djokovic at 16 wins to the Serb's 13, but recent finals have gone the way of the world number one.

The Mallorcan acknowledged there would be no quarter asked or given on Sunday.

"He is the favourite after being number one in the world and after playing fantastic and beating me the last six times," added Nadal, who beat Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych in the previous two rounds.

"Now it's another big, big test. I don't know if I am ready enough to win the match tomorrow but I believe that I can do it and I am going to fight for it."

Courageous Clijsters through, Fed thumps Tomic

'Built Belgian tough' might become a badge of honor for future tennis generations after courageous Kim Clijsters' win over Li Na Sunday, while Roger Federer dashed the dreams of home fans by crushing young gun Bernard Tomic.

On a day when the clouds cleared, the mercury bubbled and temperatures soared, Rafa Nadal won a battle of Spanish lefties against Davis Cup team-mate Feliciano Lopez, and Tomas Berdych was booed mercilessly for a petulant show of bad sportsmanship.

Defending champion Clijsters crumpled to the court at 3-3 in the first set after her left ankle rolled sickeningly over.

The Belgian, bidding farewell to the Australian Open in the final year of her career, had her ankle heavily strapped and Li took advantage to win the first set.

The 28-year-old Belgian clawed her way back into the match to win the second set in a tiebreak as the crowd began to believe she could pull off the win. Clijsters closed out the match 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 to keep her hopes alive of a fifth Grand Slam title.

However, she conceded the injury had made her think about quitting against Li, whom she beat in the 2011 final.

"It definitely crossed my mind at some point, but I knew if I could just try to let the medication sink in ... the pain would go away a little bit and maybe with the adrenaline I could just fly through it," she said.

TOMIC THUMPED

Clijsters was joined in the quarter-finals by number three seed Victoria Azarenka, who endured her traditional late-game hiccup before beating Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-2.

World number one Caroline Wozniacki endured a nervy second set against Jelena Jankovic before clinching a 6-0, 7-5 win.

Still giddy from Lleyton Hewitt's heroics against Milos Raonic, Australian fans could barely believe they had two players in the men's fourth round, but hopes that 19-year-old Tomic could depose four-times champion Federer proved wide of the mark.

Teen Tomic had already come through two five-setters to reach the fourth round while 30-year-old Federer looked as fresh as a daisy in securing a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win.

The Swiss, bidding to match Roy Emerson's record of five Australian Open titles, will face former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarter-finals.

Federer agreed Tomic had the potential to win silverware.

"I think he has had a wonderful tournament and there's much more that's going to come the Australian way," he said.

"It's going to be tough against Del Potro. I don't look beyond that because he's coming up strong. He has had a good year, played all the top guys again and pushed us all."

BERDYCH BOOED

World number two Nadal, with heavy strapping on knee, ankle and foot, huffed and puffed his way past Lopez with little Spanish sparkle but was happy to go no more than three sets.

Memories of his last eight withdrawal against Andy Murray two years ago, and defeat at the hands of David Ferrer last year, still haunt him.

"Hopefully it won't happen this time," said Nadal after his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win.

"Every year is different. I had a bad experience for the last two years here. It's tough to have to go out of a tournament like Australia in quarter-finals."

In the day's only real note of controversy, Czech Berdych was booed off Hisense Arena after a bad tempered 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 win over Nicolas Almagro.

Berdych refused to shake hands with the Spaniard after he sealed the win because he felt the 10th-seeded Almagro had deliberately blasted a return at his head during the fourth set.

"The court is pretty big and you always have some space to put the ball in," number seven Berdych complained.

"And not even if you are standing three or four metres from the guy (does he need) to hit it straight to your face.

"This is not the way how tennis is."

Berdych's courtside interview was drowned out by the crowd booing and hissing, while tennis coach and commentator Brad Gilbert said he was appalled at the Czech's decision.