Nadal extends winning streak

Spain's Rafael Nadal continued his amazing claycourt season with a straight-sets win over Oscar Hernandez in the second round of the Hamburg Masters on Wednesday.

Second seed Nadal, who is seeking a third Masters Series title on clay this season after taking wins Rome and Monte Carlo, eased to a 7-5 6-1 victory over his compatriot.

The victory extends Nadal's winning streak on clay to 78 matches.

Since April 2005, the 20-year-old has swept all before him on the surface, and has won the last 13 claycourt tournaments he has entered.

Among those wins are two French Open titles and four ATP Masters Series events.

Ironically, Nadal's next opponent will be the last player to beat him on clay - Igor Andreev. The Russian rallied for a 6-7 (3/7) 6-1 6-4 victory over German Philipp Kohlschreiber on Wednesday.

Andreev captured a 7-5 6-2 victory over Nadal in the quarter-finals at Valencia in April 2005. Nadal, however, beat him earlier this season on a hardcourt in Dubai.

While Nadal continued to roll along, world number one Roger Federer overcame a tough challenge from Argentina's Juan Monaco en route to a 6-3 2-6 6-4 victory.

Federer overcame five break chances to avoid a 0-2 deficit in the third set. The Swiss has failed to win any of his last four tournaments, his longest title drought in his 172-week reign as the world's top player.

The next opponent for Federer will be either number 15 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain or Russian Marat Safin.