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1/19/10 4:18 PM | Ricky Dimon
Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Monaco ease into the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. They are joined there by 2009 semifinalist Fernando Verdasco, who survived Carsten Ball in four sets.
(9) Fernando Verdasco vs. (WC) Carsten Ball 6-7(4), 7-6(1), 7-5, 6-2
Verdasco needed three hours and five minutes to get past Ball and maintain his hopes of a return trip to the Australian Open semifinals. The world No. 8, accustomed to dictating play from the back of the court, survived 62 winners off the racket of his opponent while he fired just 37, himself. Even after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker, Verdasco continued to struggled with Ball's power game. The 6'6'' Australian surprisingly recovered from a break deficit in set two, but this time he crumbled in the 'breaker and won only a single point. Still, Ball refused to go away without a fight. The 22-year-old battled to 5-5 in the third, but a late donation of serve all but ended his upset hopes. After taking a 2-1 lead, Verdasco put the clamps down and raced through the fourth set to book a second-round meeting with little-known Ivan Sergeyev of the Ukraine.
(6) Nikolay Davydenko d. (Q) Dieter Kindlmann 6-1, 6-0, 6-3
Kindlmann enjoyed a nice week by successfully qualifying for the main draw, but he had the unfortunate task of facing Davydenko in the first round for a second consecutive Grand Slam. The 157th-ranked German won 12 games over three sets at the U.S. Open, but against an even better Davydenko on Tuesday, he managed only four. Davydenko, who won the 2009 World Tour Finals and captured the Doha title two weeks ago, continued to be in overwhelming form. The sixth-ranked Russian dropped a mere one game throughout the first two sets and he finished with 39 winners against just 25 unforced errors. His speed also limited Kindlmann to a modest 12 winners and he needed only one hour and 31 minutes to set up a second-round encounter with Ilya Marchenko.
(30) Juan Monaco d. Ernests Gulbis 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-1
Gulbis showed signs of a turnaround late last year and earlier this season, but his 2009 form was on full display in the first round against Monaco on Tuesday. The 82nd-ranked Latvian, who needed a big serving day in order to overcome Monaco's consistency from the baseline, put in just 54 percent of his first deliveries and barely recorded more aces (eight) than double-faults (seven). Monaco broke serve three times in the opening set before a wild second frame of play saw four breaks exchanged en route to a tiebreaker. Down 6-3, Gulbis saved two set points and appeared to save another, but Monaco improbably tracked down a Gulbis backhand and Gulbis sprayed a forehand on the next shot. From there it was all over, with Monaco getting better by the moment as Gulbis disappeared. Next up for the 30th-seeded Argentine is Michael Llodra.
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