Tennis: Moya given a hard time by Czech wild card

Spain's Carlos Moya yesterday defeated Michal Tabara of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the ATP Czech Indoor tournament in Ostrava.

Moya lived up to his role as tournament favourite in the first set against Tabara before losing the second after a tie-break. But the 18-year old Czech wild-card and a former top-five junior in the world, failed to repeat his bold performance in the final set, losing to Moya in two hours.

In a match of two local favourites, the fifth-seeded Czech, Petr Korda, beat his compatriot Daniel Vacek 6-3, 6-4.

Playing his best tennis since defeating the world No 1, Pete Sampras, at the US Open in September, Korda, ranked No 15 in the world, wasted no time with Vacek. The first set took a mere 30 minutes, with Korda breaking his opponent's serve in the second game courtesy of Vacek's unforced errors.

Comfortably cruising to victory, Korda served three aces in the fourth game of the second set, winning the match in just over an hour.

"I still don't feel a hundred per cent fit," said Korda, known for his long history of injuries. "I have problems with the cavities and I might need surgery when the season's over."

In other matches, last year's Czech indoor champion, Germany's David Prinosil, beat his childhood friend Rene Hanak of the Czech Republic 7- 6, 7-5, while Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands thrashed South Africa's Wayne Ferreira 6-1, 6-0.