Summary Roger Federer reached third round of the Paris Masters and also qualified for the ATP Finals.
PARIS (AP) - Top-seeded Rafael Nadal didn t play his best tennis Wednesday but still found a way to reach the third round of the Paris Masters, while Roger Federer qualified for the ATP Finals for a 12th straight year.
Nadal beat Marcel Granollers 7-5, 7-5 in an all-Spanish meeting and Federer defeated Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 6-4.
"I didn t play well tonight," Nadal said. "Something that can happen after two weeks without playing and after a long time without playing on this kind of surface."
Nadal broke for a 6-5 lead in each set and clinched the victory when Granollers sent a forehand wide. The match stats pointed to a narrow margin of victory, with Nadal hitting 20 winners to 15 for Granollers and making 23 unforced errors compared to 22 for his opponent.
"The rhythm of my legs tonight was poor," Nadal said. "I m slower than usual, and a lot of mistakes, easy mistakes."
Nadal was playing at the Paris Masters for the first time since 2009. He missed the tournament for the past three years because of injuries or fatigue.
"The victories in days that you are not playing well have much more value than the victories on days that you play well," Nadal said.
The U.S. Open champion is seeking a record sixth Masters title in a single season. He will next play last year s runner-up, Jerzy Janowicz of Poland.
Nadal unseated Novak Djokovic atop the rankings by reaching the final of the China Open in October. He now has a 30-2 record on hard courts this year.
Federer has had a rough season by his own high standards, losing in the second round at Wimbledon and in the fourth round at the U.S. Open to drop to No. 6 in the rankings.
Anderson shanked a forehand to drop serve in the opening game and Federer hit a forehand winner to take the first set.
The fifth-seeded Swiss then took a 5-1 lead in the second set and held off a late charge from Anderson to clinch the victory when the South African s backhand sailed wide.
Defending champion David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro and Stanislas Wawrinka also moved into the third round.
Ferrer of Spain overcame Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, and Del Potro beat Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Cilic was playing only his second match since the end of his four-month ban for a positive doping test, while del Potro entered the Paris Masters following titles at the Swiss Indoors and Japan Open, plus a runner-up finish at the Shanghai Masters.
Del Potro capitalized on a backhand error from Cilic to break for 5-4 in the opening set. The fourth-seeded Argentine then took a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker and clinched the victory on another backhand error from Cilic.
Meanwhile, Wawrinka defeated Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to stay in the race for the two remaining ATP Finals spots. In the final set, the seventh-seeded Swiss broke Lopez in the second game and did not face any break points.
John Isner, Nicolas Almagro, Gilles Simon, Grigor Dimitrov and Philipp Kohlschreiber also won their second-round matches.
Isner of the United States outlasted Polish qualifier Michal Przysiezny 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3.
A semifinalist two years ago, Isner broke for 3-1 in the last set when Przysiezny netted a routine volley. The American hit 27 aces and 47 winners. Isner will next face second-seeded Djokovic.
Simon edged wild card Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3) in an all-French meeting, Almagro of Spain beat Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-4, 6-3, Bulgaria s
Dimitrov overcame Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, and Kohlschreiber cruised past Tommy Haas 6-2, 6-2 in an all-German match.
