Russian fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny made a winning start to the New Year as he routed world no. 2 Rafael Nadal 6-0, 6-1 in the final of the Chennai Open on Sunday.
Nadal, who had won a four-hour semifinal battle against fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya on Saturday night, looked jaded and out of sorts as he went down to the Russian in 57 minutes without a semblance of a fight.
In one of his most commanding performances, Youzhny slammed nine aces and pounced on Nadal's second serve. He also dominated Nadal from the baseline, with his single-handed backhand doing all the damage.
This was Youzhny's fourth career title in nine finals.