2011 Australian Open: Novak Djokovic and Fernando Verdasco enjoy straight sets victory
Playing the oldest player in the main draw, Rainer Schuttler, Spaniard Fernando Verdasco started his title run at the prestigious Australian Open on Monday. Seeded eighth in the event, Verdasco is playing for the third straight
week this year.
Verdasco started his 2011 ATP Tour playing at the 2011 Brisbane International as the third seed. Following his 2-1 loss to Benjamin Becker, Verdasco was forced to exit the event. Last week the 6ft 2in Spaniard competed at the Kooyong
AAMI Classic as the defending champion. However, seeded fourth at the event he was once again forced to exit in the first round owing to his loss against eventual finalist Gael Monfils.
Having never won a Grand Slam event, Verdasco’s best at the Australian Open came in 2009 when he made it to the semis. His 2010 run came to a halt in the fourth round at the hands of Nikolay Davydenko.
Hoping for a better run this year, Verdasco started strong against Schuttler. Opening the serve, Verdasco secured a breadstick win in the first set in only 28 minutes. Having faced some resistance from the German in the second
set, it took Verdasco nearly 45 minutes before he could clinch a 6-3 victory. Wrapping up the session nicely in straight sets, Verdasco enjoyed a 6-2 victory in the third set.
This was the pair’s third meeting on the courts with Verdasco now enjoying a one sided 3-0 lead in the career head-to-head.
The Spaniard struck eight aces, registered almost half of his opponent’s unforced errors and lost only 18 of 89 points on service along with converting 6 of 14 break points to enjoy a straight sets victory in almost 110 minutes.
Verdasco now advances into the second round where he will face Serb Janko Tipsarevic later in the week. The latter dismissed Mischa Zverev in straight sets to secure a spot for himself in the second round.
Another top player who got off to a strong start in the event today was third seed Novak Djokovic. After reaching the finals of the 2011 Hopman Cup alongside Ana Ivanovic, Djokovic is competing at his second event of the year.
The 2008 titlist is looking for another title win at the Grand Slam event. His 2010 run at the event could not go past the quarterfinal stage where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in an enthralling five setter.
Opening against a lower ranked Marcel Granollers, Djokovic rushed to a 6-1 victory in the first set, endured a 6-3 win in the second set before wrapping up with another breadstick win in the third set.
The top Serb struck seven aces and converted seven of twelve break points with a loss of only 19 of 67 points on service to enjoy a straight sets victory over Granollers. Djokovic now moves into the second round where he will face
either Ivan Dodig or Ivo Karlovic.
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