Rafael Nadal’s countryman, Albert Ramos, has been defeated by Lukas Lacko of Slovakia in the first round of the Rakuten Japan Open 2012. Lacko won the match in the straight sets by 6-0, 6-2. It was an easy win for the Slovakian player. Ramos was able to win just 2 games in the entire match. The match got over in just 59 minutes. Lacko was superb on his service and he smashed three aces in the match. Apart from serving well, Lacko also played wonderful return shots and never let Ramos settle into his groove.

Lacko had been in extremely poor form of late. He had lost his last eight games in a row. So, he had not come into this match with a lot of confidence. But, he showed aggressive attitude right from the outset. In the first set, he just demolished Ramos. The Spaniard didn’t manage to grab even a single game in the first set. Lacko won the first six games on the trot and win the first set by 6-0.

Lacko started the second set in the same fashion. He broke Ramos’ service in the second game and won the first three games consecutively to get ahead by 3-0. The next four games went with the serve and Lacko was ahead by 5-2 at the end of the seventh game. Ramos had to hold his service in the eighth game to extend the match, but, the Spaniard was not able to do so. His service was broken for the second time in the set and he lost the match.

In the post match interview, Lacko said, “I am delighted to have started the tournament with such a blistering win. But, I will have to face some tougher opponents in the next matches and I need to continue playing with the same kind of form.”

In the second round, Lacko will play against the British superstar Andy Murray.