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• Isner title defense to be challenged by Ferrer, Almagro

  1/10/11 9:51 AM | Ricky Dimon
  John Isner is back to defend his Auckland title, but he could be tested by a pair of highly-ranked Spaniards. David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro are the top two seeds and have first-round byes along with Isner.
  
  
  With one week to go until the Australian Open, Auckland's Heineken Open once again gives players a chance to fine-tune their games for the season's first Grand Slam.
  
  Four players in the Top 25 of the world rankings are taking part this week; David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro, John Isner, and Albert Montanes. They have byes straight to the second round as the top four seeds.
  
  Isner is the defending champion, having saved one match point in the 2010 final to outlast Arnaud Clement in a third-set tiebreaker. The 6'9'' American is coming off a stellar week in Perth where he led the United States to victory at the Hopman Cup. Isner went 2-1 in singles and won all three of his mixed doubles matches, including the clincher against Belgium.
  
  Two other former champions are back in Auckland. Ferrer captured the title in 2007 and Philipp Kohlschreiber triumphed in 2008. Both Ferrer and Kohlschreiber find themselves in the top half of the draw and they are one win each away from a quarterfinal clash. The German ousted Carlos Berlocq is his opener on Monday.
  
  Isner will begin his title defense against either Robin Haase or Pablo Cuevas and he could be in line for a quarterfinal showdown against David Nalbandian. Almagro is in a difficult bottom quarter of the draw that also features 2010 runner-up Clement, No. 5 seed Juan Monaco, Brisbane semifinalist Kevin Anderson, and Chennai finalist Xavier Malisse.
  
  
  
  
  
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