Hewitt v Gonzalez feature of AO draw

Former Australian Open finalists Lleyton Hewitt and Fernando Gonzalez face the battle of their Australian Open careers to determine who will contest the second round of the 2009 tournament.

In what Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has described as “the pick of the tournament first round match-ups”, 2007 finalist Gonzalez, who won two titles in 2008, takes on 2005 finalist Hewitt, returning to Grand Slam competition following hip surgery in August.

'Gonzo' holds a 3-2 head-to-head advantage over the Australian, who was one of his victims en route to his runner-up finish two years ago.

World No.1 Rafael Nadal faces journeyman Christophe Rochus in the first round while No.2 Roger Federer, who is campaigning to equal Pete Sampras’ record 14 Grand Slam singles titles, plays Andreas Seppi with a potential second round match-up against 1997 finalist and former world No.1 Carlos Moya.

Meanwhile, pre-tournament favourite and No.4 seed Andy Murray takes on tour veteran Andrei Pavel. The Scott has a 1-0 record over the Romanian, having defeated him in the first round of the 2005 US Open.

No.3 seeded Novak Djokovic, No.7 Andy Roddick and No.9 James Blake are among six seeds in the men’s draw who will have to wait until completion of qualifying on Saturday to discover the identities of their first round opponents.

Finalists in Beijing in 2008 and in Sydney this week, Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina, look likely to begin their Australian Open campaigns in style. No. 3 seeded Safina takes on compatriot Alla Kudryatseva, while No.4 seed Dementieva plays Kristina Barrois of Germany.

Toughest of the women’s first round matches sees No.11 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark play 2007 quarterfinalist Shahar Peer of Israel.

Wozniacki, one of the most improved players on the women’s circuit in 2008, held match points against Serena Williams in the quarterfinals in Sydney this week and is one of the tour’s most exciting rising stars. This is Peer’s fourth appearance in Melbourne, the 21-year-old reaching the third round last year.

Having recovered from a virus that forced her to withdraw from Sydney, top seed and world No.1 Jelena Jankovic should enjoy a reasonably straightforward passage over Yvonne Meusburger, and No. 2 seed Serena Williams will be favoured against Asian Wildcard Meng Yuan.

Meanwhile Serena’s sister Venus, the tournament No. 6 seed, will have to see off 2008 improver Angelique Kerber of Germany if she is to progress to round two.

Form player and No.9 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, a quarterfinalist in Sydney this week, faces a tough first round against aspiring Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko, while No.16 seed Marion Bartoli and British No.2 Melanie South will have the opportunity to take care of some unfinished business in their first round match up. The pair was tied at one game-all in Sydney this week when Bartoli withdrew due to a calf injury.

Top local prospects Sam Stosur and Casey Dellacqua both face stiff first round assignments. World No.46 Stosur takes on Klara Zakopalova, while No.55 Dellacqua will attempt to overcome No. 19 seed Daniela Hantuchova, a semi-finalist here last year.

Men's Singles Draws

Men's Singles

First Round Section: 1 2 3 4

Second Round Section: 1 2

Third Round

Fourth Round

Quarter Finals

Semi Finals

Finals Rafael Nadal ESP (1) v Christophe Rochus BEL Florent Serra FRA v Roko Karanusic CRO Eduardo Schwank ARG v Tommy Haas GER Flavio Cipolla ITA v Dmitry Tursunov RUS (29) Richard Gasquet FRA (24) v Diego Junqueira ARG Vincent Spadea USA v Denis Istomin UZB Guillermo Canas ARG v Dieter Kindlmann GER Lleyton Hewitt AUS v Fernando Gonzalez CHI (13) Gael Monfils FRA (12) v Martin Vassallo Arguello ARG Mikhail Youzhny RUS v Stefan Koubek AUT Andrey Golubev KAZ v Fabio Fognini ITA Nicolas Massu CHI v Nicolas Almagro ESP (17) Ivo Karlovic CRO (25) v Daniel Gimeno-Traver ESP Wayne Odesnik USA v Mario Ancic CRO Chris Guccione AUS v Nicolas Devilder FRA Pablo Andujar ESP v Gilles Simon FRA (6)

Hewitt v Gonzalez feature of AO draw

Former Australian Open finalists Lleyton Hewitt and Fernando Gonzalez face the battle of their Australian Open careers to determine who will contest the second round of the 2009 tournament.

In what Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has described as “the pick of the tournament first round match-ups”, 2007 finalist Gonzalez, who won two titles in 2008, takes on 2005 finalist Hewitt, returning to Grand Slam competition following hip surgery in August.

'Gonzo' holds a 3-2 head-to-head advantage over the Australian, who was one of his victims en route to his runner-up finish two years ago.

World No.1 Rafael Nadal faces journeyman Christophe Rochus in the first round while No.2 Roger Federer, who is campaigning to equal Pete Sampras’ record 14 Grand Slam singles titles, plays Andreas Seppi with a potential second round match-up against 1997 finalist and former world No.1 Carlos Moya.

Meanwhile, pre-tournament favourite and No.4 seed Andy Murray takes on tour veteran Andrei Pavel. The Scott has a 1-0 record over the Romanian, having defeated him in the first round of the 2005 US Open.

No.3 seeded Novak Djokovic, No.7 Andy Roddick and No.9 James Blake are among six seeds in the men’s draw who will have to wait until completion of qualifying on Saturday to discover the identities of their first round opponents.

Finalists in Beijing in 2008 and in Sydney this week, Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina, look likely to begin their Australian Open campaigns in style. No. 3 seeded Safina takes on compatriot Alla Kudryatseva, while No.4 seed Dementieva plays Kristina Barrois of Germany.

Toughest of the women’s first round matches sees No.11 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark play 2007 quarterfinalist Shahar Peer of Israel.

Wozniacki, one of the most improved players on the women’s circuit in 2008, held match points against Serena Williams in the quarterfinals in Sydney this week and is one of the tour’s most exciting rising stars. This is Peer’s fourth appearance in Melbourne, the 21-year-old reaching the third round last year.

Having recovered from a virus that forced her to withdraw from Sydney, top seed and world No.1 Jelena Jankovic should enjoy a reasonably straightforward passage over Yvonne Meusburger, and No. 2 seed Serena Williams will be favoured against Asian Wildcard Meng Yuan.

Meanwhile Serena’s sister Venus, the tournament No. 6 seed, will have to see off 2008 improver Angelique Kerber of Germany if she is to progress to round two.

Form player and No.9 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, a quarterfinalist in Sydney this week, faces a tough first round against aspiring Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko, while No.16 seed Marion Bartoli and British No.2 Melanie South will have the opportunity to take care of some unfinished business in their first round match up. The pair was tied at one game-all in Sydney this week when Bartoli withdrew due to a calf injury.

Top local prospects Sam Stosur and Casey Dellacqua both face stiff first round assignments. World No.46 Stosur takes on Klara Zakopalova, while No.55 Dellacqua will attempt to overcome No. 19 seed Daniela Hantuchova, a semi-finalist here last year.

Men's Singles Draws

Men's Singles

First Round Section: 1 2 3 4

Second Round Section: 1 2

Third Round

Fourth Round

Quarter Finals

Semi Finals

Finals Rafael Nadal ESP (1) v Christophe Rochus BEL Florent Serra FRA v Roko Karanusic CRO Eduardo Schwank ARG v Tommy Haas GER Flavio Cipolla ITA v Dmitry Tursunov RUS (29) Richard Gasquet FRA (24) v Diego Junqueira ARG Vincent Spadea USA v Denis Istomin UZB Guillermo Canas ARG v Dieter Kindlmann GER Lleyton Hewitt AUS v Fernando Gonzalez CHI (13) Gael Monfils FRA (12) v Martin Vassallo Arguello ARG Mikhail Youzhny RUS v Stefan Koubek AUT Andrey Golubev KAZ v Fabio Fognini ITA Nicolas Massu CHI v Nicolas Almagro ESP (17) Ivo Karlovic CRO (25) v Daniel Gimeno-Traver ESP Wayne Odesnik USA v Mario Ancic CRO Chris Guccione AUS v Nicolas Devilder FRA Pablo Andujar ESP v Gilles Simon FRA (6)

Analysis: Federer faces rocky road

If 2008 was a relatively difficult year for Roger Federer, he may find life no easier at Australian Open 2009, the first Grand Slam championship of the year.

Last year, at this time, he was still recovering from the after-effects of glandular fever. He narrowly escaped elimination in a long, draining third-round match with Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic, and lost in the semi-finals to another Serbian, Novak Djokovic, who went on to win the title.

It was a traumatic start to the year for the popular Swiss. Worse shocks were to follow, what with his French Open thrashing by Rafael Nadal, and the loss of his Wimbledon title and his No.1 ranking to the same player.

This year, Federer, winner of the Australian title in 2004, 2006 and 2007 and now seeded second behind Nadal, embarks on another rocky road at Melbourne Park.

He should beat Italian Andreas Seppi in the first round, and possibly the 41st-ranked Spaniard, Carlos Moya, in the second round. But waiting for him in the third round could be Marat Safin, the No. 26 seed.

It was the big Muscovite who stopped Federer at the 2005 Open, prevailing 9-7 in the fifth set of a torrid semi-final. Safin subsequently won the title by beating Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Safin atoned for his defeat in the 2002 final, when he carelessly underestimated his Swedish opponent Thomas Johansson, and the 2004 final, when Federer beat him.

Safin has played many other tight matches with Federer. He seems more relaxed these days, perhaps because he plans to retire at the end of the year, and his carefree attitude may make him an even greater threat this time around.

Should Federer win this testing challenge, he would probably face fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, seeded 15th, or the 20th-seeded Tomas Berdych, the young Czech who ousted him from the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Other brilliant young players in Federer’s quarter are Argentina’s eighth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro and Croatia’s 19th-seeded Marin Cilic, the champion recently at Chennai.

His semi-final opponent may be either Djokovic, who has a comparatively easy draw up to the quarter-finals, or old foes Andy Roddick or David Nalbandian.

In the top half of the draw, Nadal will be trying to become the first Spaniard ever to capture the Australian crown. His draw looks easier than Federer’s, though Germany’s Tommy Haas, a three-time semi-finalist, could pose an early threat.

Another possible obstacle is the swashbuckling Fernando Gonzalez, who made the final in 2007 after beating Hewitt and Nadal, among others, and then lost to Federer. The Chilean takes plenty of risks, however, and hasn’t shown the same confidence in recent months as he did two years ago.

Nadal’s probable quarter-final opponent is sixth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon, who produced some sizzling form in the latter part of 2008.

An equal favourite with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic is the fast-improving Andy Murray. The rangy Scot seems unaffected by the pressure of public expectations as he battles to become Britain’s first Grand Slam champion since Fred Perry won the Wimbledon and US crowns in 1936.

Murray faces strong opposition from the likes of 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who beat him in the first round in Melbourne last year), American stalwart James Blake, and recent Brisbane finalists Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic and Fernando Verdasco of Spain.

He is expected to meet Nadal in a semi-final, with the winner facing either Federer or Djokovic in a fortnight. Murray now has an impressive head-to-head record against all except Nadal, and has beaten Federer in five of their seven meetings, including the last three in succession.

Alan Trengove has covered around 130 Grand Slam tournaments as a reporter and feature writer, and covered his first Australian championships in 1953

Analysis: Federer faces rocky road

If 2008 was a relatively difficult year for Roger Federer, he may find life no easier at Australian Open 2009, the first Grand Slam championship of the year.

Last year, at this time, he was still recovering from the after-effects of glandular fever. He narrowly escaped elimination in a long, draining third-round match with Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic, and lost in the semi-finals to another Serbian, Novak Djokovic, who went on to win the title.

It was a traumatic start to the year for the popular Swiss. Worse shocks were to follow, what with his French Open thrashing by Rafael Nadal, and the loss of his Wimbledon title and his No.1 ranking to the same player.

This year, Federer, winner of the Australian title in 2004, 2006 and 2007 and now seeded second behind Nadal, embarks on another rocky road at Melbourne Park.

He should beat Italian Andreas Seppi in the first round, and possibly the 41st-ranked Spaniard, Carlos Moya, in the second round. But waiting for him in the third round could be Marat Safin, the No. 26 seed.

It was the big Muscovite who stopped Federer at the 2005 Open, prevailing 9-7 in the fifth set of a torrid semi-final. Safin subsequently won the title by beating Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Safin atoned for his defeat in the 2002 final, when he carelessly underestimated his Swedish opponent Thomas Johansson, and the 2004 final, when Federer beat him.

Safin has played many other tight matches with Federer. He seems more relaxed these days, perhaps because he plans to retire at the end of the year, and his carefree attitude may make him an even greater threat this time around.

Should Federer win this testing challenge, he would probably face fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, seeded 15th, or the 20th-seeded Tomas Berdych, the young Czech who ousted him from the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Other brilliant young players in Federer’s quarter are Argentina’s eighth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro and Croatia’s 19th-seeded Marin Cilic, the champion recently at Chennai.

His semi-final opponent may be either Djokovic, who has a comparatively easy draw up to the quarter-finals, or old foes Andy Roddick or David Nalbandian.

In the top half of the draw, Nadal will be trying to become the first Spaniard ever to capture the Australian crown. His draw looks easier than Federer’s, though Germany’s Tommy Haas, a three-time semi-finalist, could pose an early threat.

Another possible obstacle is the swashbuckling Fernando Gonzalez, who made the final in 2007 after beating Hewitt and Nadal, among others, and then lost to Federer. The Chilean takes plenty of risks, however, and hasn’t shown the same confidence in recent months as he did two years ago.

Nadal’s probable quarter-final opponent is sixth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon, who produced some sizzling form in the latter part of 2008.

An equal favourite with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic is the fast-improving Andy Murray. The rangy Scot seems unaffected by the pressure of public expectations as he battles to become Britain’s first Grand Slam champion since Fred Perry won the Wimbledon and US crowns in 1936.

Murray faces strong opposition from the likes of 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who beat him in the first round in Melbourne last year), American stalwart James Blake, and recent Brisbane finalists Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic and Fernando Verdasco of Spain.

He is expected to meet Nadal in a semi-final, with the winner facing either Federer or Djokovic in a fortnight. Murray now has an impressive head-to-head record against all except Nadal, and has beaten Federer in five of their seven meetings, including the last three in succession.

Alan Trengove has covered around 130 Grand Slam tournaments as a reporter and feature writer, and covered his first Australian championships in 1953

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