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  • Sydney - Ancic will take on Malisse in opening round

    1/12/09 2:14 AM | Cheryl Murray
    Sydney - Ancic will take on Malisse in opening round Mario Ancic and Xavier Malisse headline opening day action at the Medibank International in Sydney on Monday, in what is sure to be a big-hitting match.

    Mario Ancic has had unbelievably bad luck with his health over the past two years. His troubles started with a vicious bout of glandular fever more than a year ago. Since then, he has struggled with other illnesses and injuries as well, missing months of play at a time. Most recently, he missed half of July and all of August with one of his many maladies.

    Belgian big hitter Xavier Malisse has hit a year-long dry spell, in which he has had terrible first round losses in numerous Challenger events. He was knocked out of the US Open in the first round of qualifying. The once-fierce hardcourter is no longer a factor on the men’s tour. He has done well to qualify for the main draw in Sydney.

    Malisse’s mercurial temperament has always gotten in the way of his consistency as a player, but for the past year, the Belgian’s game has quite spun off its axis. His best result in 2008 was a Challenger win in Canada. Conversely, Ancic’s game has suffered mostly due to his health. As he appears to be healthy at the moment, he should be able to pocket the win. Ancic in straight sets.

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