MADRID (AP) Rafael Nadal began his Madrid Open title defense with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Marcos Baghdatis on Wednesday, and Novak Djokovic won his 30th straight match, 6-3, 6-4 over Kevin Anderson.
The top-ranked Nadal broke three times in the first set and once in the second, pinning the Cypriot to the baseline with accurate first serves and precise passing shots.
Nadal advanced to the third round against Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-0.
``I think he's the worst rival to have to face in the second outing of a tournament,'' Nadal said del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion.
Nadal's match was watched by Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who had flown back to the Spanish capital after playing at Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals Tuesday.
``I enjoy watching tennis in Madrid and I support the Spanish players a lot,'' Ronaldo said.
Djokovic's winning streak dates to Serbia's win in the Davis Cup final last December. He's 28-0 this year, the best start to a season since Ivan Lendl went 29-0 in 1989.
Djokovic will next play Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain, who has yet to beat the Serb in four meetings.
Djokovic, playing in Madrid for the first time in two years, said the Caja Magica clay courts were very fast, making it hard to control the ball against big servers like Anderson.
The second-ranked Serb was able to break the South African's serve once in each set.
It's a fact that I am playing the best tennis of my life and I'm definitely happy about it,'' said Djokovic, who attributed his good form to astrong mental ability to handle the pressure and play the right shots at the right time.''
Third-seeded Tomas Berdych and fifth-seeded Robin Soderling also won.
On the women's side, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic eased past second-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.