Del Potro starts in style

Sixth seed Argentine makes fine start tou00a0US open, beats Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-3, 6-1Argentine sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro advanced to the second round of the US Open late last night with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory over compatriot Juan Monaco. Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro returns to compatriot Juan Monaco in their US Open first round match in New York yesterday. pic/AFPThe 20-year-old French Open semi-finalist will next face Austrian Jurgen Melzer, who earlier ousted former world number one Marat Safin, in the Russian's final Grand Slam match.Safin's send offSafin, who concluded his Grand Slam career with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 defeat and is set to retire at the end of the year, took a parting shot at those criticising sister Safina. I have to protect my sister. The poor girl, she's trying her best but everybody is giving her hard time. Is she a real No 1 or not? On ranking she's No 1 in the world. So, Deal with that, he said.Meanwhile, six-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal said he felt good after making an impressive start to his quest for a first US Open title yesterday with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Frenchman Richard Gasquet.Nadal wants titleThe Spaniard fired seven aces and made only 10 unforced errors to win in one hour, 41 minutes to book a second-round date with Germany's Nicolas Kiefer I served well in the important moments. I played very well on my backhand, which is very important in my game. I'm very happy to be in the second round, said Nadal. I love playing here. I hope I have the last Slam title here, added Nadal in his first Slam match since losing to Swede Robin Soderling in Round Four of the French Open.