Men Tennis Update – Australian Open 01-16-13

Written by: Staff on 15th January 2013

Men Tennis Update - Australian Open 01-16-13 |

Singles – First Round: (2) R Federer def. B Paire 6-2 6-4 6-1

So far, Roger Federer’s strategy of coming into the Australian Open rested is looking pretty good. He again leaves Benoit Paire below #40.

Singles – First Round: (3) A Murray def. R Haase 6-3 6-1 6-3

This was quite thoroughly efficient on the part of Andy Murray. Roger Federer’s #2 ranking is not in danger at this time, but this still doesn’t look like a good sign for Federer in the semifinal.

Singles – First Round: (6) J Del Potro def. A Mannarino 6-1 6-2 6-2

Juan Martin del Potro keeps on pace with Tomas Berdych in the contest for #6.

Singles – First Round: (7) J Tsonga def. M Llodra 6-4 7-5 6-2

Michael Llodra will remain well below #50.

Singles – First Round: (9) R Gasquet def. A Montanes 7-5 6-2 6-1

The good news is, Albert Montanes played. The bad news is, he’s not going to be Top Hundred much longer.

Singles – First Round: (12) M Cilic def. M Matosevic 6-4 7-5 6-2

Marinko Matosevic will probably remain just above #50.

Singles – First Round: (13) M Raonic def. J Hajek 3-6 6-1 6-2 7-6(7-0)

Milos Raonic needs one more win to defend his points, but this will likely suffice to keep him Top Fifteen.

Singles – First Round: (14) G Simon def. F Volandri 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2

A quick recovery for Gilles Simon from his sore neck of last week. He will likely hit the Top Fifteen; John Isner is now out.

Singles – First Round: (17) P Kohlschreiber def. S Darcis 6-2 6-3 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber is now assured of remaining the Top German.

Singles – First Round: G Monfils def. (18) A Dolgopolov 6-6(7-9) 7-6(7-4) 6-3 6-3

Gael Monfils may be hurting, but he manages to keep winning. This will very likely cost Alexandr Dolgopolov his Top Twenty spot.

Singles – First Round: J Nieminen def. (19) T Haas 7-6(7-3) 4-6 6-3 4-6 8-6

Jarkko Nieminen just took a big fall in the rankings; now he seems to want to rebuild. He costs Tommy Haas the chance to become the Top German, and very possibly costs Haas his chance to reach the Top Twenty.

Singles – First Round: (21) A Seppi def. H Zeballos 6-2 6-4 6-2

Andreas Seppi gets the award for first player to finish on Tuesday, just ahead of Andy Murray. And he wasn’t defending anything, so he is already adding points. He’ll probably need two more wins to hit the Top Twenty, though.

Singles – First Round: (25) F Mayer def. R Williams 2-6 3-6 6-2 7-6(14-12) 6-1

A slight boost for Florian Mayer, who didn’t play last year — but how much did this marathon cost him?

Singles – First Round: (27) M Klizan def. D Brands 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4

This just about assures that Martin Klizan will stay Top Thirty.

Singles – First Round: B Kavcic def. (29) T Bellucci 6-3 6-1 6-3

We haven’t seen a whole lot of Thomaz Bellucci lately, and this may be part of why: He suffers a lot of erratic results. He loses second round points and perhaps two or three ranking spots.

Singles – First Round: (30) M Granollers def. G Zemlja 7-6(8-6) 7-6(7-5) 1-0 retired (Illness)

Marcel Granollers defends his points, although it was rather a sad end to what had been a tough match.

Singles – First Round: B Tomic def. L Mayer 6-3 6-2 6-3

Bernard Tomic became Australia’s #1 player after his title last week, but he had more to defend this week than Marinko Matosevic. So he needs one more win to remain Australia’s #1. But his sixth straight win certainly looks promising.

Singles – First Round: J Duckworth def. B Mitchell 6-4 7-6(10-8) 4-6 5-7 8-6

A very fortunate draw for Duckworth….

Singles – First Round: G Soeda def. L Saville 6-7(4-7) 6-3 6-2 6-3

So far, it has been a good event for Japanese players, but Go Soeda still needs more to get back to where he was at the start of the year.

Singles – First Round: J Sousa def. J Smith 6-4 6-1 6-4

A nice draw for Joao Sousa, who picks up his first ATP win in the better part of a year; John-Patrick Smith was playing his first ATP match.

Singles – First Round: J Levine def. T Robredo 7-6(7-5) 6-7(2-7) 6-4 6-4

It appears Tommy Robredo will once again stay stuck below the Top Hundred.

Singles – First Round: I Dodig def. D Wu 7-5 4-6 6-3 6-3

Wu is getting a surprising amount of press as China’s most significant male player. But he is now 0-5 at the ATP level and has yet to play more than two events in a year.

Singles – First Round: J Chardy def. A Menendez-Maceiras 7-6(7-5) 6-7(3-7) 6-2 6-1

This may take Jeremy Chardy above #35.

Singles – First Round: B Becker def. A Bedene 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-6(7-1)

Aijaz Bedene started the year strong, but like Ajax in the contest for the armor of Achilles, he seems to be coming up second best since. Possibly due to injury.

Singles – First Round: R Berankis def. S Stakhovsky 6-2 7-6(7-4) 7-5

We haven’t heard much of Ricardas Berankis lately — but, then, Sergiy Stakhovsky hasn’t accomplished much, either. Berankis is getting close to the Top Hundred; Stakhovsky will likely remain a little below.

Singles – First Round: N Davydenko def. D Sela 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-3

Nikolay Davydenko now looks safe in the Top Forty. But he has to face Federer next.

Singles – First Round: A Weintraub def. G Pella 7-6(7-2) 7-5 6-2

Pretty impressive for a guy whose only ATP-level experience is in Davis Cup.

Singles – First Round: Y Lu def. R Ramirez Hidalgo 6-2 6-1 4-6 6-1

Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo continues his record of Australian Open frustration. He has played the main draw only three times in the last six years, and lost his opener each time.

Singles – First Round: A Falla def. J Ouanna 6-4 7-5 6-4

Josselin Ouanna is still seeking his first ATP win since Roland Garros 2010.

Singles – First Round: R Ram def. G Garcia-Lopez 6-4 6-4 3-6 6-2

Rajeev Ram earns his first ATP win since St. Petersburg.

Singles – First Round: L Rosol def. J Baker 7-6(7-5) 7-5 6-2

Once again Lukas Rosol wins his opener. Once again we wait to see if he can go beyond that. Jamie Baker at least had his first main draw appearance since Wimbledon.

Singles – First Round: D Istomin def. I Sijsling 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2

This all but guarantees that Denis Istomin will stay Top Fifty.

Topics: Andy Murray, Australian Open 2013, Australian tennis news, Federer, Juan Marin Del Potro, men tennis news, Raonic, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News, Xavier Malisse