TENNIS in DEPTH.

 Ivan Ljubicic – winner of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday – was forced to retire against Benjamin Becker with a back injury. Ljubicic was leading the German 6-4, 1-0 with a break in the second set when he had to quit the match.

Rafael Nadal opened his 2010 Sony Ericsson Open campaign on Friday night with a 6-4 6-3 win over Taylor Dent.

Playing Dent for the first time, the former World No. 1 won all four break points he held on the American’s serve, which also delivered six aces and six double faults. By comparison Nadal’s serving stats were less dramatic, serving only two aces and no double faults.

Nadal is seeking his first singles title since early May 2009 (Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome), having gone winless in his last 12 Tour events.

The Spaniard’s best results in Miami have been a pair of runner-up finishes, in 2005 (l. to Federer in five sets) and 2008 (l. to Davydenko).

In the third round Nadal meets a resurgent David Nalbandian, on the comeback trail after hip surgery last year. The Argentinian wild card defeated No. 30 seed Viktor Troici, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

In the men’s night match Andy Roddick did what he needed to in his first match of the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, defeating Russian Igor Andreev, 6-4, 6-4. Roddick blasted 12 aces and saved the only break point he faced in the one-hour, 20-minute encounter.

“I played okay,” said Roddick. “I think the second set was better than the first. Conditions are so much different here than Palm Springs; you’re in 90% humidity. All of a sudden the ball is not really jumping or going anywhere.

In another late match No. 8 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga served 15 aces in his defeat of Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4, 6-3.

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