Nieminen defeats former Aussie Open champ Baghdatis; Melzer stuns No. 6 Fish

World No. 41 and 2008 runner-up Jarkko Nieminen (pictured) defeated former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, at the Brisbane International in Australia on Monday, to claim his first victory of the 2009 season. Third-seeded Fernando Verdasco and Jurgen Melzer were also winners at the Queensland Tennis Center.

While Nieminen had a steady serving outing on Monday by making 72 percent of first serves, including winning 66 percent of those points, Baghdatis was not as fortunate. The Cyprus native who is playing in Brisbane as a wild card entrant served 11 double faults, won only 18 of 46 second serve points and had his serve broken five times.

“Marcos is a very good player; he had some bad luck with injuries last year,” said Nieminen. “I think he is very hungry this year to stay fit and play well. You never know what to expect in the first match of the year. It is important to win it. I did well to turn the match around after losing the first set, when I had some break points. I then started to play more aggressive, stay focused and fought hard.”

With the victory this afternoon, Nieminen improves to 3-2 against Baghdatis, having won the last two meetings. The Finland native will now await the winner of Tuesday’s match between second-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Agustin Calleri of Argentina.

Verdasco, a key Spain Davis Cup player in last year’s championship match against Argentina, glided past 16-year-old wild card Bernard Tomic, winning, 6-4, 6-2, in 65 minutes. The left-hander from Madrid was able to win 79 percent of first serve points, while breaking serve four times throughout the match. Verdasco will face either Mario Ancic or qualifier Amer Delic in the second round.

Melzer, a Beijing Olympics singles quarterfinalist, improved his career record against Mardy Fish to 3-1 by surviving a hard fought three-set battle, winning, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4), in two hours and 23 minutes. Both players put on a fine display of serving for the fans, as sixth-seeded Fish hammered 20 aces compared to Melzer’s 12. Both players were two of 10 on break point opportunities, but the lefty from Austria was able to win the critical points at the end of the third set tiebreak to advance. Melzer next faces either former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero or Florent Serra.

Eighth-seeded Czech star Radek Stepanek hit six aces, won 83 percent of first serve points and broke serve four times en route to an easy, 6-2, 6-2, victory over Russian Igor Kunitsyn in 69 minutes. Stepanek, currently the boyfriend of WTA Tour star Nicole Vaidisova, will clash in the second round against either defending champion Michael Llodra or Australian qualifier Joseph Sirianni.

No. 4 Roddick, No. 5 Monfils open 2009 season with forceful victories in Doha

Fourth-seeded American Andy Roddick (pictured) and fifth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils were among the first round winners on Monday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, Qatar. Roddick, who finished last year in the Top 10 for the seventh consecutive season, easily defeated Spaniard Ivan Navarro, 6-1, 6-3, while Monfils cruised past Jan Hernych, 6-2, 6-2.

Currently ranked No. 8 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Roddick smashed eight aces past Navarro, while winning 76 percent of first serve points and dropping only three points on his second serve. In the 61-minute match, Roddick broke serve four times, while Navarro was unsuccessful in his lone break point opportunity. In the second round, Roddick faces either wild card entrant Arnaud Clement or Diego Junqueira.

Currently ranked at a career-best No. 13, Monfils needed only 55 minutes to defeat Hernych in straight sets and start his 2009 season with a victory. Monfils fired nine aces, won 27 of 35 first serve points and was able to break serve on five of six opportunities. The former junior World No. 1 will clash with Nicolas Devilder in the second round.

Others winners on opening day in Doha included Victor Hanescu, Philipp Petzschner, Andreas Seppi and Sergiy Stakhovsky. Hanescu had little trouble with Serbian Viktor Troicki, winning, 6-4, 6-2, in 70 minutes. After surviving a close first set against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, Petzschner was able to close out the match in straight sets, winning, 7-6(2), 6-3. Seppi was able to break serve five times en route to an easy, 6-4, 6-2, victory over German Denis Gremelmayr, while Stakhovsky survived a three-set thriller against Belgian Christophe Rochus, winning, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).

No. 3 Cilic, No. 5 Schuettler, No. 8 Granollers advance to second round in India

No surprises occurred on opening day at the Chennai Open in India, as third-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic (pictured) and fifth-seeded German Rainer Schuettler started their 2009 season off on the right note as they both advanced to the second round. Spaniard Marcel Granollers also advanced on Monday.

Cilic, winner of his first career title last year in New Haven, battled his way past steady Spaniard veteran Alberto Martin, winning, 6-4, 6-4, in just over 90 minutes. Cilic, who reached the semifinals in Chennai last year by playing his way through the qualifying tournament, won 27 of 35 first serve points, while breaking the Spaniards serve once in each set. In the next round, Cilic will face either Denis Istomin or a qualifier.

Schuettler, a Wimbledon semifinalist last year, fought past a tough first round test in wild card entrant Prakash Amritraj, winning, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, in 84 minutes. The German veteran who has played in Chennai eight times previously, had a solid serving performance, winning 76 percent of first serve points, while losing only eight points on his second serve. The 32-year-old was able to break serve on four of five chances, while Amritraj could only manage to break once. Schuettler next faces Simon Greul, who defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-3, 6-4, in 67 minutes.

The singles champion at last spring’s U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston by defeating James Blake, Granollers grinded out a, 6-4, 7-5, victory over Korea’s Hyung-Taik Lee in just under two hours, to set up a potential second round match against German Andreas Beck or Croatian Roko Karanusic. Granollers fired seven aces past his veteran opponent, while breaking serve on four occasions.

Israeli Dudi Sela and German Bjorn Phau also advanced to the second round. Sela, who put together spectacular results at the end of the 2008 season, had trouble all match against Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, but walked away victorious, winning, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-1. Sela smashed four aces compared to one double fault, while breaking serve six times in the two hour and 24 minute battle. Phau cruised past clay court journeyman Santiago Ventura, 6-2, 7-5. Phau dropped only eight points on his first serve and broke serve five different times.

Gasquet wins first match of 2009 season; Soderling, Dent, Benneteau also advance

In an all French battle at the inaugural Brisbane International on Sunday, No. 7 seed Richard Gasquet (pictured) defeated Marc Gicquel, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, to post the first victory of the 2009 ATP Tour season and advance to the second round. No. 4 seed Robin Soderling and American Taylor Dent also advanced on Day One at the tournament being held at the new $82 million Queensland Tennis Center in Australia.

In just over two hours, Gasquet was able to break Gicquel’s serve on five of 18 chances, while smashing six aces. Gasquet won 69 percent of his first serve points compared to 67 percent by Gicquel, helping the World No. 23 improve to 3-1 lifetime against his fellow Frenchman. The 22-year-old is trying to win his first ATP singles title since 2007 when he defeated Olivier Rochus to win the Mumbai tournament. Gasquet will next face Dent, who is on the comeback trail after having two back surgeries and missing two years on tour.

Dent, once ranked as high as No. 21 in the world, won his first ATP level match since February 2006 by defeating Belgian Steve Darcis, 7-6(0), 6-2. Currently ranked No. 865 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Dent played two ATP level events last season and three challenger tournaments, winning only two matches, which were both won at the challenger event in Champaign. Dent had a tremendous serving outing today, smashing eight aces and only losing six points on his first serve. The Newport Beach based American was able to break serve on four of five opportunities in the match that lasted one hour and 25 minutes. Dent’s second round clash with Gasquet will be only their second meeting with Gasquet winning last time in straight sets in Nottingham in 2005 on grass.

Soderling, who won the Lyon title last fall and is currently ranked at a career-best No. 17, cruised to victory over big serving American Sam Querrey, 6-3, 6-3, in just under an hour. Soderling won 26 of 30 first serve points, while firing seven aces past Querrey. The Swede was able to break serve on three different occasions, while Querrey did not have any break point chances. Soderling improves to 2-0 lifetime against the Californian and will next face Frenchman Julien Benneteau, a three set winner over Robby Ginepri.

Qatar ExxonMobil Open preview

Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Location: Doha, Qatar
Dates: January 5-11, 2009
Draw Size: 32
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $1,110,250; men’s singles champion: $183,000
2008 Singles Final: Andy Murray, GBR, def. Stanislas Wawrinka, SUI, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Official Web site: http://www.qataropen.org/

Top story lines:
1. Can Andy Murray, a five-time singles champion last year, start off his 2009 season with a second straight Doha title?
2. After a season in which he dropped to No. 2, will Roger Federer start his climb back to the top by winning a third Doha title?
3. Can World No. 1 Rafael Nadal start off where he left off in 2008 by opening the year with a title against a talented group of players?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. Fabrice Santoro (First meeting; Nadal became the first Spaniard to finish No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings; Nadal won eight titles including Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Masters Series events in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and Toronto, as well as winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics; Nadal won 82 matches in 2008, while winning over $6.6 million in tournament prize money; Santoro won the singles title in Newport for the second straight year, while becoming the oldest player in 2008 to win a title; Santoro was the oldest player to finish the year in the Top 100; Santoro is currently ranked No. 52)

Potential notable late round match:
No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 5 Gael Monfils, Quarterfinals
· Nadal leads 3-0; winning last fall on hard courts at the Masters Series Paris
· Nadal took over the No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer on August 18, 2008, which was helped by winning his fourth straight French Open title, as well as winning an epic five set thriller over Roger Federer the finals at Wimbledon
· Monfils reached the semifinals at the French Open last year
· Monfils is currently ranked at a career best No. 14
No. 3 Andy Murray vs. No. 7 Dmitry Tursunov, Quarterfinals
· Murray leads 5-0; with a 2-0 edge on hard courts
· Murray won five titles in 2008 and also reached the US Open finals
· Tursunov won titles last year in Sydney and Metz

Watch out for…
1. No. 5 Gael Monfils (Finalist in Vienna; semifinalist at Roland Garros, Nottingham and Bangkok; quarterfinalist at the Beijing Olympics and the Masters Series Madrid; had victories last year over Andy Roddick, Fernando Gonzalez, David Ferrer and twice over David Nalbandian; currently ranked at a career-high No. 14)
2. No. 6 Igor Andreev (Finalist in Gstaad and Umag; quarterfinalist in Basel, New Haven, Dubai, Buenos Aires and Masters Series events in Miami and Monte Carlo; won a career-high 43 matches last season; currently ranked No. 19)

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 1 Rafael Nadal

Brisbane International preview

Brisbane International
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Dates: January 4-11, 2009
Draw Size: 32
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $484,750; men’s singles champion: $77,200
2008 Singles Final: Michael Llodra, FRA, def. Jarkko Nieminen, FIN, 6-3, 6-4
Official Web site: http://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/

Top story lines:
1. Which player will be crowned the champion at the inaugural tournament being held at the new $82 million Queensland Tennis Center in Brisbane?
2. 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are entered in Brisbane, who has the better chance of winning the title?
3. Does defending champion Michael Llodra have enough guts to grind out another title “Down Under”?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. Ernests Gulbis (Djokovic leads 2-0; winning in straight sets at Roland Garros and at the Masters Series Cincinnati; Last season, Djokovic won the Australian Open, Masters Series Indian Wells and Rome and the Tennis Masters Cup; Djokovic finished last season with a 64-17 record, which included noteworthy victories over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, David Nalbandian, Nikolay Davydenko, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Juan Martin Del Potro; Djokovic is currently ranked No. 3; Gulbis finished 2008 with a 24-22 record, including reaching the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and at the Masters Series Cincinnati; Gulbis is currently ranked No. 53)

2. No. 6 Mardy Fish vs. Jurgen Melzer (Melzer leads 2-1; winning their only hard court meeting in three sets in France in 2006; Fish recorded a 32-23 record in 2008, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Masters Series Indian Wells, which included victories over Nikolay Davydenko, Lleyton Hewitt, David Nalbandian and Roger Federer; Fish also reached the finals in New Haven and was a quarterfinalist at the US Open; Fish is currently ranked No. 24; Melzer finished last season with a 30-26 record, including a quarterfinal finish at the Beijing Olympics, as well as reaching the third round at three of the four grand slams; Melzer is currently ranked No. 34)

Potential notable late round match:
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 5 Tomas Berdych, Quarterfinals
Djokovic leads 1-0, winning 7-5 6-1 at the 2008 Thailand Open in Bangkok
Both residents of Monte Carlo were able to claim singles titles, Djokovic winning four singles titles in 2008, while Berdych was the champion at the AIG Japan Open

No. 2 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. No. 7 Richard Gasquet, Quarterfinals
Series tied 2-2, with Tsonga winning at last year’s Australian Open in the fourth round in four sets
In 2008, Tsonga won singles titles at the Masters Series Paris and Thailand Open

Watch out for…
1. No. 3 Fernando Verdasco (Winner in Umag; runner-up in Nottingham; semifinalist in Bastad, New Haven and St. Petersburg; finished in the year-end Top 20 for the first time in his career by winning a career-best 46 matches; currently ranked No. 16)
2. No. 4 Robin Soderling (Winner in Lyon; runner-up in Memphis, Rotterdam and Stockholm; won a personal-best 45 matches in 2008, while defeating five Top 10 players, including James Blake, Gilles Simon and twice against Andy Roddick; currently ranked No. 17

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 2 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Chennai Open preview

Chennai Open
Location: Chennai, India
Dates: January 5-11, 2009
Draw Size: 32
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $450,000; men’s singles champion: $73,000
2008 Singles Final: Mikhail Youzhny, RUS, def. Rafael Nadal, ESP, 6-0, 6-1
Official Web site: http://www.chennaiopen.org/

Top story lines:
1. Will two-time Chennai Open champion Carlos Moya win a third title in India?
2. Can 2008 Tennis Masters Cup finalist Nikolay Davydenko open up his 2009 season with a title?
3. Will the “King of Aces” Ivo Karlovic serve his way beyond last years quarterfinal performance?

Justin’s notable first round match-ups:
1. No. 8 Marcel Granollers vs. Hyung-Taik Lee (First meeting; Granollers defeated James Blake in the championship match in Houston in 2008; Granollers is currently ranked No. 56; Lee won two challenger events at the end of 2008; Lee defeated David Ferrer and Jarkko Nieminen en route to a fourth round performance at the 2008 Masters Series Indian Wells. Lee is currently ranked No. 107.

Potential notable late round match:
No. 2 Stanislas Wawrinka vs. No. 5 Rainer Schuettler, Quarterfinals
Wawrinka won 38 singles matches in 2008, finishing the year ranked No. 13
Wawrinka defeated Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Marat Safin en route to a runner-up finish at the 2008 Masters Series Rome event
Schuettler won 21 singles matches in 2008, finishing the year ranked No. 33
After reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon, Schuettler was a semifinalist in Beijing, while also reaching the quarterfinals in Kitzbuhel, Tokyo, Stockholm and St. Petersburg

No. 4 Ivo Karlovic vs. No. 6 Carlos Moya, Quarterfinals
Moya leads 4-0, with a 3-0 edge on hard courts
Moya won their last meeting on hard courts in Metz, France in straight sets
Karlovic reached a career-best ranking of No. 14 in August 2008.

Watch out for…
1. No. 3 Marin Cilic (Winner in New Haven; won 37 matches in 2008 including victories over Andy Roddick, Fernando Gonzalez and Tommy Robredo; reached the fourth round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon; currently ranked No. 23)

Champion prediction:
Justin: No. 4 Ivo Karlovic