Stuttgart, Germany (Sports Network) - Spaniards Rafael Nadal and defending champion David Ferrer were among the first-round winners Tuesday at the Mercedes Cup.The top-seeded Nadal rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Germany's Alexander Waske, while the fourth-seeded Ferrer breezed past Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko, 6-2, 6-2.
It was total domination for Nadal, who needed just 73 minutes to advance. The Spaniard, who won this title in 2005, saved both break points he faced and went on to improve to 27-1 on clay this year. He has won 89 of his last 90 matches on the slow surface.
Ferrer, meanwhile, won in just 51 minutes. He is coming off a victory last week at the clay tournament in Bastad.
Third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic also eased into the second round with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, while Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero and Argentines Juan Ignacio Chela and Juan Monaco were other seeded winners.
The sixth-seeded Ferrero trounced Argentina's Gaston Gaudio, 6-1, 6-2, while the seventh-seeded Chela earned a 6-3, 6-3 win over Max Mirnyi of Belarus. The eighth-seeded Monaco had little trouble in a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic.
Fifth-seeded Guillermo Canas of Argentina was forced to retire in the third set of his match against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka. A right thigh injury forced Canas to stop after Wawrinka had won the first game of the decisive set.
Stefan Koubek of Austria, Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Diego Hartfield of Argentina were also winners Tuesday.
Kohlschreiber's win earned him a second-round matchup with Nadal.
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