Rafa Roars Past Bjorkman in Artois Championships Opener

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Just three days after claiming his record fourth French Open title in Paris, Rafael Nadal made an impressive transition to grass by defeating former Wimbledon semifinalist Jonas Bjorkman at The Artois Championships.

Nadal, who is attempting to become the first player to win Roland Garros and at The Queen’s Club in the same year, took just 65 minutes to register a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Bjorkman to reach the third round.

“Happy to be here another year,” said Nadal. “Always is a pleasure to play on grass. Well, for sure the first day, the sensation is a little bit strange. For the first day, was good for me. Important thing, I gonna have another match tomorrow. For sure this tournament is very important. If I can have a very good result here, is going to be very important for me.”

The top seed will now meet rising Japanese star Kei Nishikori for a place in the quarterfinals after he overcame Olivier Patience in straight sets.

“He won a tournament in Delray Beach this year, beating very good players,” said Nadal of Nishikori. “Probably one of the next stars, the next top 10s. I'm sure tomorrow going to be a tough match, very tough.”

Nishikori, who lives in Bradenton, Florida, burst onto the scene in Delray Beach in February when he came into the tournament ranked No. 244, qualified for the main draw and defeated the likes of Bobby Reynolds, Sam Querrey and top seed James Blake to claim his first ATP title.

Now playing in his first tournament on grass, the 18-year-old is looking forward to the challenge of playing Nadal. “It's going to be fun,” said Nishikori. “I mean, it's fun to play like one of best players in the world. He’s my favorite player, too.”

Meanwhile, second seed Novak Djokovic also made a quick adjustment to grass with a 6-2, 7-6(7) victory over Croatia's Roko Karanusic, and No. 10 seed Fernando Gonzalez booked his place in the third round after defeating former World No. 1 Marat Safin in straight sets.