TENNIS:The Spanish world number two, Rafael Nadal, overcame late resistance to reach the second round of the ATP Chennai Open in India yesterday but the second-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis was knocked out.

Nadal, the top seed, defeated Mathieu Montcourt 6-2, 6-4 after the tenacious French baseliner broke his serve and engaged him in long rallies in the final stages.

Baghdatis, world number 16 and a 2006 Australian Open finalist, went down 6-3, 6-4 to the unseeded Dutchman Robin Haase, leaving his preparations for the year's first grand slam in tatters.

Eighth seed Marc Gicquel of France also lost, going down 7-6 6-4 to Kristof Vliegen of Belgium.

Montcourt, 22, featuring in the main draw of an ATP event for only the sixth time, grew in confidence in the final stages against the French Open champion, who had lost in the doubles first round on Monday.

"In the end I had to play better to finish the match," Nadal said. "He fought a lot and I made some mistakes."

He next faces the qualifier Rajeev Ram, an American of Indian origin, who defeated the Russian Yuri Schukin 7-6, 7-6.

Baghdatis failed to find his rhythm against Haase, who used his height advantage, a stunning forehand and the drop shot to great effect.

The 22-year-old Cypriot produced a last-gasp effort by saving five match points in the marathon final game before losing.

The Dutch number one, ranked a modest 114 in the world, took a set off Baghdatis in last year's Canadian Masters first round.

"I don't know what to say," said a dejected Baghdatis, who was using the event as preparation for the Australian Open, which starts on January 14th.

"I tried things that didn't work. He was serving very well. He had nothing to lose and he was confident."

Haase, 20, said: "He is a great player but it also gives you the chance to play great. Today, I didn't play the game he likes. He wasn't at his best and I took advantage."

Haase broke Baghdatis's serve in the second game and led 4-1 before claiming the first set.

He led 4-2 in the second but was a bundle of nerves serving for the match as the final game went to deuce 10 times. The Dutchman eventually converted his sixth match point when Baghdatis returned into the net.