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1/18/10 3:51 PM | Ricky Dimon
Fernando Verdasco and Nikolay Davydenko begin their Australian Open campaigns on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Ernests Gulbis and Juan Monaco will do battle in an intriguing first-round showdown.
(30) Juan Monaco vs. Ernests Gulbis
In its Australian Open preview, ESPN called Gulbis the ATPs "problem child." Brad Gilbert called him 2009's "most disappointing player, male or female." What will Gulbis be on Tuesday when he faces Monaco for the third time in their careers? It's hard to say, since you never know which Gulbis will show up on any given day. The talented 21-year-old soared into the Top 40 back in 2008 thanks to a quarterfinal run at the French Open, but he now registers at 82nd following a dismal 2009 campaign.
Monaco has also been up and down over the past two years, but that has been due to injury rather than inconsistency. The 33rd-ranked Argentine is a rock-solid baseliner, but he does by far his best work on clay courts. It should come as no surprise that Monaco won his lone clay-court encounter with Gulbis (Bastad 2007) and lost their hard-court clash (Tokyo 2009). Monaco could steal a set on the hard courts of Melbourne, but as long as Gulbis serves well, the unseeded Latvian should cruise in four sets.
(9) Fernando Verdasco vs. (WC) Carsten Ball
Verdasco won over thousands of Australian fans with a memorable run to the brink of the 2009 Australian Open final, but the crowd will back his opponent on Tuesday afternoon in Hisense Arena. Ball, a 6'6'' Aussie, is ranked 129th in the world and got a wild card into the main draw of the season's first Grand Slam. The 22-year-old, who is 7-6 lifetime at the ATP level, owns a huge serve and thus should be able to keep this one relatively close. Verdasco's all-court game, however, is far superior and the ninth-ranked Spaniard has to be feeling good about returning to the site of his best-ever tournament. Verdasco in three competitive sets is the pick.
(Q) Dieter Kindlmann vs. (6) Nikolay Davydenko
For the second straight Grand Slam, Kindlmann and Davydenko will be going head-to-head in the first round. Davydenko just recently prevailed over Kindlmann 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 at last year's U.S. Open. The 175th-ranked German appears to be on top of his game after a successful trip through qualifying, but he would do well to win 12 games against Davydenko this time. After all, the sixth-ranked Russian seems to have reinvented himself in the span of a few months. He ended 2009 by winning the World Tour Finals title, then he kicked off 2010 by beating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal en route to the Doha title. Look for Davydenko to roll in three quick sets.
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Juan Monaco
Ernests Gulbis
Australian Open
RickyDimon, Mar 22, 2010 3:05 PM
SenorPlaid, Mar 22, 2010 2:13 PM
chr18, Mar 22, 2010 12:47 PM
gorafago, Mar 22, 2010 10:50 AM
attackingtennisrulez, Mar 22, 2010 9:21 AM
Nativenewyorker, Mar 22, 2010 2:35 AM
vamosrafa, Mar 20, 2010 7:28 PM
vamosrafa, Mar 20, 2010 7:18 PM
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