Post by Annie on Jan 17, 2006 18:05:46 GMT 3
Federer, Haas Advance While Rising Stars Fall
Roger Federer confidently made his way through his opening round match at the 2006 Australian Open, breezing by wild card Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to begin play Tuesday in Melbourne.
The World No.1 took an early break to go up 3-1 in the first set and never looked back, capitalizing on the Uzbekistani's 39 unforced errors to clinch the win in one hour and 23 minutes.
"I thought it was not easy today because he was serving big, taking a lot of chances on my return," conceded Federer. "We didn't see too many rallies, which didn't really allow me to get the rhythm going.
"I still believe it was a good match. I won comfortably - that's what counts most."
Istomin, ranked No. 195 in the INDESIT ATP Ranking, was making his first Grand Slam appearance. The 19-year-old scored entry to the Australian Open by winning the tournament for the Asian wild card, held in his hometown of Tashkent.
"I hope we're going to see more of him because I thought he played pretty good," said Federer.
The top-seeded Swiss, the 2004 champion, will next face Florian Mayer of Germany who beat Korean Hyung-Taik Lee.
Playing in his 37th consecutive Grand Slam - the most among active players on the circuit - Dominik Hrbaty relied on experience to pull out of a two-set deficit against Austrian Oliver Marach.
The veteran Slovak, a two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist (2002 and 2005), regrouped to put together a 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 victory in just over three hours.
Fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko and sixth seed Guillermo Coria followed Hrbaty's lead and survived first-round scares in Melbourne. After falling to 2-1 set disadvantages, both players bounced back strong to prevail. Davydenko succeeded in holding off towering Croat Ivo Karlovic, while Coria needed three-and-a-half hours to put together his five-set win over Victor Hanescu.
Experience also edged out youth in the first round headline clash between former World No. 2 Tommy Haas and No. 14 seed Richard Gasquet - two of the five players to have defeated Federer in the past year.
Haas, who reached the event semifinals in 1999 and 2002, bested the 19-year-old Frenchman 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 in their first career meeting to seal his second round appearance. The German will next meet American Paul Goldstein who defeated another rising star, Novak Djokovic, the youngest player in the Top 100.
Meanwhile, Gasquet's compatriot, No. 22 seed Gael Monfils, succumbed to Peru's Luis Horna 6-4, 7-5, 6-1. The 19-year-old Frenchman, who finished second to Federer just two weeks ago in Doha, committed 42 unforced errors to Horna's 24 and faced only two chances to break the Peruvian.
Britain's Andy Murray became the fourth youngster - and the last Top 100 teenager in the singles draw - to fall in first round action. Juan Ignacio Chela unseated the 18-year-old, who was making his Australian Open debut, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
Also in early action Tuesday, Aussie wild card Peter Luczak showed great poise before the home crowd, prevailing in the tie-breaks to edge past Ivo Minar in the Czech's first appearance in Melbourne.
With the straight-sets win, the 26-year-old Luczak set up a second round date with No. 24 seed Olivier Rochus, who quickly ousted French wild card Michael Llodra.
Roger Federer confidently made his way through his opening round match at the 2006 Australian Open, breezing by wild card Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to begin play Tuesday in Melbourne.
The World No.1 took an early break to go up 3-1 in the first set and never looked back, capitalizing on the Uzbekistani's 39 unforced errors to clinch the win in one hour and 23 minutes.
"I thought it was not easy today because he was serving big, taking a lot of chances on my return," conceded Federer. "We didn't see too many rallies, which didn't really allow me to get the rhythm going.
"I still believe it was a good match. I won comfortably - that's what counts most."
Istomin, ranked No. 195 in the INDESIT ATP Ranking, was making his first Grand Slam appearance. The 19-year-old scored entry to the Australian Open by winning the tournament for the Asian wild card, held in his hometown of Tashkent.
"I hope we're going to see more of him because I thought he played pretty good," said Federer.
The top-seeded Swiss, the 2004 champion, will next face Florian Mayer of Germany who beat Korean Hyung-Taik Lee.
Playing in his 37th consecutive Grand Slam - the most among active players on the circuit - Dominik Hrbaty relied on experience to pull out of a two-set deficit against Austrian Oliver Marach.
The veteran Slovak, a two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist (2002 and 2005), regrouped to put together a 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 victory in just over three hours.
Fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko and sixth seed Guillermo Coria followed Hrbaty's lead and survived first-round scares in Melbourne. After falling to 2-1 set disadvantages, both players bounced back strong to prevail. Davydenko succeeded in holding off towering Croat Ivo Karlovic, while Coria needed three-and-a-half hours to put together his five-set win over Victor Hanescu.
Experience also edged out youth in the first round headline clash between former World No. 2 Tommy Haas and No. 14 seed Richard Gasquet - two of the five players to have defeated Federer in the past year.
Haas, who reached the event semifinals in 1999 and 2002, bested the 19-year-old Frenchman 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 in their first career meeting to seal his second round appearance. The German will next meet American Paul Goldstein who defeated another rising star, Novak Djokovic, the youngest player in the Top 100.
Meanwhile, Gasquet's compatriot, No. 22 seed Gael Monfils, succumbed to Peru's Luis Horna 6-4, 7-5, 6-1. The 19-year-old Frenchman, who finished second to Federer just two weeks ago in Doha, committed 42 unforced errors to Horna's 24 and faced only two chances to break the Peruvian.
Britain's Andy Murray became the fourth youngster - and the last Top 100 teenager in the singles draw - to fall in first round action. Juan Ignacio Chela unseated the 18-year-old, who was making his Australian Open debut, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
Also in early action Tuesday, Aussie wild card Peter Luczak showed great poise before the home crowd, prevailing in the tie-breaks to edge past Ivo Minar in the Czech's first appearance in Melbourne.
With the straight-sets win, the 26-year-old Luczak set up a second round date with No. 24 seed Olivier Rochus, who quickly ousted French wild card Michael Llodra.
wonder girl didn't last long 
??
Dreams unwind but still it's a state of mind,..I know - Dreams unwind but still it's hard to find - Stevie Nicks...“Marat Safin is a self-tortured genius. He's off the wall with tremendous physical talent. “John Mc Enroe