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Djokovic bumped early in Brisbane
Source: Agencies |
January 7, 2009, Wednesday
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NOVAK Djokovic's preparations for the defence of his Australian Open title suffered an unexpected setback yesterday when he was knocked out of the Brisbane International in the first round.
The 21-year-old world No. 3 lost his debut match at the brand new Pat Rafter Arena to Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-4.
Facing the prospect of arriving in Melbourne with only one competitive match under his belt this season before the start of the Open on January 19, Djokovic asked for and was granted a wildcard entry into next week's Sydney International.
"I am not panicking," the Serbian top seed told reporters. "The Australian Open is my highest goal for this part of the year and I really want to play well there. "It's not the end of the world. It's the first match, so I'm not going to be pessimistic. "I have a lot of time to prepare for the Aussie Open."
Gulbis had lost his two previous matches to Djokovic but was not getting carried away with his victory. "It is probably one of my best wins but best game - I don't think so. I have had some beautiful losses," he said.
Djokovic's hasty exit was a big disappointment for organizers of the Brisbane International, a new co-sanctioned event formed when the now-defunct Australian men's and women's hardcourt championships were merged.
Djokovic was the main drawcard and followed Marcos Baghdatis, Daniela Hantuchova, Francesca Schiavone and Ai Sugiyama, who all lost on Monday.
There were fewer casualties amongst the seeds yesterday.
Last year's Australian Open runner-up and second seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, beat Argentine Agustin Calleri 6-2, 7-5 to emerge as the new favorite to win in Brisbane. "I have more of a chance than Novak to win this tournament," Tsonga joked.
Men's fifth seed Tomas Berdych cruised past Australia's Brydan Klein 6-0, 6-4.
Women's second seed Victoria Azarenka survived a torrid workout from Slovakia's Jarmila Gajdosova before winning 7-6, 7-5, while third seed Marion Bartoli of France defeated Hungary's Melinda Czink 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva made a successful start to her first tournament in Australia since 2005 by beating Czech Iveta Benesova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. The 19-year-old returned to professional tennis 12 months ago after serving a two-year doping ban and said she felt like she was starting all over again.
"I kind of feel like a rookie again which is not bad, I kind of like it," she said.
"(But) I feel like the grandmother on tour, you know, seeing all these 14 and 15 year olds.
"I remember when I was 14, 15 and I was like 'Oh my God, I'm playing this 20-year-old grandmother. I can understand perfectly."
In India, world No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko packed off Austrian Daniel Koellerer 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Chennai Open.
The Russian top seed wrapped up the match in 72 minutes on centre court to make a winning start to his preparations for the Australian Open.
The 27-year-old Davydenko won the opening set with breaks in the sixth and eighth games.
But the energetic Koellerer, ranked 123rd in the world, put up a late resistance in the second set and entertained the spectators with some delicate drop shots.
Davydenko, who finished in the top five for the fourth straight year in 2008, broke the Austrian in the eighth game and sealed the match with his eighth ace.
"He played some good drop shots, because I need to run and try and do something. He played very well this game," Davydenko said.
The 21-year-old world No. 3 lost his debut match at the brand new Pat Rafter Arena to Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-4.
Facing the prospect of arriving in Melbourne with only one competitive match under his belt this season before the start of the Open on January 19, Djokovic asked for and was granted a wildcard entry into next week's Sydney International.
"I am not panicking," the Serbian top seed told reporters. "The Australian Open is my highest goal for this part of the year and I really want to play well there. "It's not the end of the world. It's the first match, so I'm not going to be pessimistic. "I have a lot of time to prepare for the Aussie Open."
Gulbis had lost his two previous matches to Djokovic but was not getting carried away with his victory. "It is probably one of my best wins but best game - I don't think so. I have had some beautiful losses," he said.
Djokovic's hasty exit was a big disappointment for organizers of the Brisbane International, a new co-sanctioned event formed when the now-defunct Australian men's and women's hardcourt championships were merged.
Djokovic was the main drawcard and followed Marcos Baghdatis, Daniela Hantuchova, Francesca Schiavone and Ai Sugiyama, who all lost on Monday.
There were fewer casualties amongst the seeds yesterday.
Last year's Australian Open runner-up and second seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, beat Argentine Agustin Calleri 6-2, 7-5 to emerge as the new favorite to win in Brisbane. "I have more of a chance than Novak to win this tournament," Tsonga joked.
Men's fifth seed Tomas Berdych cruised past Australia's Brydan Klein 6-0, 6-4.
Women's second seed Victoria Azarenka survived a torrid workout from Slovakia's Jarmila Gajdosova before winning 7-6, 7-5, while third seed Marion Bartoli of France defeated Hungary's Melinda Czink 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva made a successful start to her first tournament in Australia since 2005 by beating Czech Iveta Benesova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. The 19-year-old returned to professional tennis 12 months ago after serving a two-year doping ban and said she felt like she was starting all over again.
"I kind of feel like a rookie again which is not bad, I kind of like it," she said.
"(But) I feel like the grandmother on tour, you know, seeing all these 14 and 15 year olds.
"I remember when I was 14, 15 and I was like 'Oh my God, I'm playing this 20-year-old grandmother. I can understand perfectly."
In India, world No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko packed off Austrian Daniel Koellerer 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Chennai Open.
The Russian top seed wrapped up the match in 72 minutes on centre court to make a winning start to his preparations for the Australian Open.
The 27-year-old Davydenko won the opening set with breaks in the sixth and eighth games.
But the energetic Koellerer, ranked 123rd in the world, put up a late resistance in the second set and entertained the spectators with some delicate drop shots.
Davydenko, who finished in the top five for the fourth straight year in 2008, broke the Austrian in the eighth game and sealed the match with his eighth ace.
"He played some good drop shots, because I need to run and try and do something. He played very well this game," Davydenko said.
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