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  • Hopman Cup hero Hrbaty in action at Heineken Open

    1/12/09 6:02 PM | Ricky Dimon
    Hopman Cup hero Hrbaty in action at Heineken Open Dominik Hrbaty, a star at the Hopman Cup last week, will meet defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round. Big men Victor Hanescu and John Isner will also take the court on Tuesday.

    (5) Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Dominik Hrbaty

    Tuesday's play on center court at the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand will kick off with the defending champion going up against last week's Hopman Cup hero. Philipp Kohlschreiber, who defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in last year's title match, was dealt a tough draw in the form of Dominik Hrbaty, who led Slovakia to a surprise title at the Hopman Cup last week. Hrbaty just turned 31 years old and injuries have dropped his ranking to 250th in the world. He, of course, needed a wild card to get into this event. Kohlschreiber, 33rd in the world, also fared relatively well in his season-opening event. The German won two matches at the Qatar Open before falling to Roger Federer 6-2, 7-6(6). Count on a three-setter, but don't be surprised if Hrbaty keeps up his momentum and pulls off a minor upset of the No. 5 seed.

    Victor Hanescu vs. (8) Juan Monaco

    Victor Hanescu and Juan Monaco will square off in a battle between two men who went in different directions last season. Monaco, after a breakout 2007 campaign, suffered an ankle injury in February and never really got back on track. Hanescu woke up from a mediocre first half of the season to win a clay-court title in Gastaad one week before making a semifinal appearance in Kitzbuhel. The 6'6'' Romanian ended the year by qualifying and winning a round at the Masters Series Madrid, reaching the semifinals in St. Petersburg, and finishing runner-up in a Challenger event. He is up to 44th in the world rankings, five spots ahead of Monaco, after reaching the Doha quarterfinals last week. Monaco is making his first ATP appearance of the season. The Argentine could probably make this competitive on a clay court, but look for Hanescu to advance in straight sets.

    Two relatively high-profile qualifiers will also be in action on Tuesday. Gilles Muller, who reached the quarterfinals of last year's U.S. Open, is taking on Florent Serra and John Isner, who finished runner-up at an ATP event in Washington, D.C. in 2007, is going up against No. 7 seed Albert Montanes. Isner defeated Thomaz Bellucci in a third-set tiebreaker to qualify for the Auckland main draw. He should have the edge over Montanes on hard courts.

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