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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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| Tuesday, January 23 |
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| No opening upsets in men's draw ESPN.com news services | |||
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MELBOURNE, Australia - Magnus Norman and Gustavo Kuerten needed to shake off some rust in the first round of the Australian Open.
Luckily, both players were able to advance to the second round as well.
Norman struggles past journeyman French player Stephane Huet 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) on Tuesday.
Norman, a semifinalist at last year's tournament, faced an
ignominious exit when No. 114 Huet raced to a 6-1, 4-1
lead.
But the fourth seed Norman changed the momentum of the match by
reeling off four successive games.
He stayed in control thereafter, before claiming victory on his fourth match point.
"I was not surprised to find myself in trouble against
Huet," Norman said. "I had never played him before and I did not know what to
expect. But I remembered that I am No. 4 in the world and
that gave me confidence to play.
"When you are in that position, everybody wants to beat you."
Norman meets Fabrice Santoro of France in the second round.
Men's No. 1 seed Gustavo Kuerten slammed down his racket after giving Argentina's Gaston Gaudio a break with a double fault in the final set's eighth game, and then let three break points slip away in the ninth. After saving two break points in the 10th, he finally won 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 7-5.
Kuerten, who never has advanced past the second round at an Australian Open, next plays big-serving Greg Rusedski, a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 winner over South African Marcos Ondruska.
The Australian Open has been hard for him, Kuerten said, because it comes after a long layoff, and the far different time zone means
"when I wake up, I want to sleep." He also felt tightness in his leg and received courtside treatment to his thigh early in
the match after over-stretching during a baseline rally, but it improved as the match went on.
No. 7 Lleyton Hewitt saved three break points at 2-3 in the fourth set, broke in the next game and went on to a 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
victory over Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman in a 3-hour, 42-minute marathon.
Hewitt, one of Australia's hopes to bring home the tournament title for the first time in 25 years, cashed in his third match
point with a forehand passing shot and pumped his fists for the crowd of 15,000.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov, like Venus Williams an Olympic gold medalist, beat Jens Knippschild 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Kafelnikov also
opened the Australian last year against Knippschild.
He now meets another German, Nicolas Kiefer, a top 20 player who has won their last two meetings.
"I guess I have to run 100 percent next match," said Kafelnikov, the 1999 Australian champion.
Also on the men's side, those advancing included 1997 runner-up Carlos Moya, who won 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 against another former No. 1,
Marcelo Rios, the 1998 runner-up.
No. 10 Wayne Ferreira, No. 11 Franco Squillari, No. 15 Arnaud Clement and No. 16 Sebastien Grosjean also advanced.
Unseeded Chris Woodruff, a quarterfinalist last year, beat fellow American Jan-Michael Gambill 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
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ALSO SEE Hewitt craves Grand Slam win at home Hingis, Williams sisters win openers at Aussie Open Australian Open results | |
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