Cyprus thrill: Baghdatis sets up Hewitt showdown
Karen Lyon
January 18, 2008
http://www.smh.com.au/news/tennis/djokovic-wins-on-a-sombre-note/2008/01/17/1200419971686.html
MARCOS BAGHDATIS dug deep to record a rousing 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2
victory over 2005 champion Marat Safin and secure a mouth-watering
third-round clash against local hero Lleyton Hewitt last night.
In what was the match of the champion****p so far, the Cypriot 15th seed
raced to a two-set advantage, but lost his way in the third as Safin
suddenly rediscovered his form. The unseeded Russian grew in confidence as
the match wore on and levelled matters at two sets all, but Baghdatis
regained his touch in the fifth and, with the help of an early break,
closed
out the decider to advance.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic might be the entertainer but after dismissing
his
Italian opponent Simone Bolelli in straight sets on Vodafone Arena
yesterday, the rising star politely refused all requests to serenade the
packed house.
Despite his country's apparent hold on the Eurovision song contest,
Djokovic
declared that not all Serbians could carry a tune. Anyway, he was in no
mood
to sing.
Despite his 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Bolelli, Djokovic had other things
on his mind. By the end of the day, he was unhappy with his serve and
ready
to hit the practice courts to finetune the key stroke.
Bolelli, in his first Australian Open, was clearly hit with a case of
nerves
and found it difficult to keep the ball in play. His forehand was sprayed
far and wide, and his lack of clean shot-making disrupted the rhythm of
the
match.
"I was trying to be patient and aggressive at the same time, so that
probably caused some unforced errors," Bolelli said last night.
The windy conditions did not help the quality of serving but, despite his
own unhappiness with the stroke, Djokovic was able to fend off the only
two
break points he faced.
"I was just trying to overhit too much," he said later. "And if you lose
focus, you could easily good down. I was lucky that in this moment I
didn't
have such a strong opponent who was going to give me pressure and trouble
of
my second serves."
Djokovic's control of the match was almost instant, and he broke Bolelli's
spirit early in the game. The Italian looked well on his way to holding
his
first service game of the match leading 40-0, but a series of forehand
errors turned the dream start into a nightmare, and the third seed had
gained the break and all the momentum after just two games.
He will now play big-serving Sam Querrey after the American caused a minor
upset by defeating the No.32 seed Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-4,
6-2.
Djokovic has never played the 1.98-metre American and sent his coach to
watch the match and gain some hints on how to tackle him.
Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer looked set for a tussle before his
opponent,
Argentine Juan Martin Del ****to was affected by a back injury. Ferrer won
the opening set but had been broken early in the second set when Del ****to
called for medical attention. He battled on until the end of the of the
set
but was forced to retire with Ferrer leading 6-3, 6-4.
The No.13 seed, Tomas Berdych, was another to progress through to the
third
round, while James Blake (12) beat compatriot Michael Russell 6-3, 6-2,
6-2.
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