First Round Finally Finished at Heineken Open
Wednesday at the Heineken Open was a real bonanza for tennis addicts.
Seven singles matches were played to neatly tie off the first round, giving organisers a boost after the frustrations of a wet Tuesday.
Olympic gold medal winner Nicolas Massu of Chile made short work of Spain’s sixth seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero (pictured left), winning 6-4 6-2 with some tremendous shot-making. He broke the 2003 Roland Garros champion in the first game of each set and kept the initiative with a combination of touch and great court coverage, reminiscent of Agassi or Chang at their best.
Eighth seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, a semifinalist in 2006 was also bundled out, losing his rhythm after an easy first set against Spain’s new young gun Nicolas Almagro. Almagro found whatever it was that Wawrinka had lost and won 1-6 6-4 6-1, making it look easy at the finish.
Second seed Mario Ancic of Croatia looked to be cruising against Czech qualifier Lukas Rosol until the youngster jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set. Ancic needed all his class to claw it back but eventually avoided the upset by winning 6-3 7-6(4).
Kiwi wildcard Dan King-Turner had his chances against Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco, leading in both sets, but went down 3-6 3-6 once Monaco loosened up. Monaco was twice treated for a cramping calf muscle in the match.
Argentina had a good day all round, with Juan Ignacio Chela and seventh seed Agustin Calleri joining Monaco in the second round. Chela beat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 7-6(2) 6-3 in front of a big and appreciative crowd on court 6. The lanky South American’s form is always a little unpredictable, but going by his first round performance he looks on song this week. He won all the big points, anticipating well and fearlessly hitting the lines. Calleri was just as emphatic, calmly putting compatriot Juan Martin del Potro back in his box 6-1 6-3. The younger man became infuriated at his inability to find courtspace not occupied by the veteran and began spraying shots everywhere.
In other matches, fifth seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia beat Korean qualifier Woong-Sun Jun 6-4 7-5, and Olympic silver medallist Mardy Fish easily beat qualifier Robert Kendrick 6-2 6-4 in the all-USA match-up.
