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Spadea Excited to Kick Off Action in Auckland
Fourth seed Vincent Spadea was in easy-going, wise-cracking mode with the journalists after warming up yesterday. He appeared very relaxed, happy to talk about Auckland 's down-home charm. “I love the harbour, the Viaduct… should I go on? I love everything about it here, apart from never having won.”
The American, ranked 19 in the world, will be looking to turn his Auckland form around. His first round opponent is David Sanchez of Spain , and he said he had been working on some particular shots in preparation for facing the clay-courter, but wouldn't elaborate. What he did say was “I like the Auckland surface, it suits my style. I'm seeded fourth so I'm meant to reach the semis. (Sanchez) is a tough first round opponent, he'll hit a lot of balls. But it's a tough draw all round.”
Rankings don't provide much to go on in centre court's first match today. Jose Acasusu of Argentina (ranked 66) plays Julien Benneteau of France (ranked 64). Acasuso won titles in singles ( Bucharest ) and doubles (Umag) in 2004, whereas Benneteau was without a title but ranks ahead of the Argentine by virtue of his overall consistency.
Fifth seed Fernando Gonzalez is ranked 23, meanwhile, and his wild card opponent James Blake is ranked 94, but Blake has been as high as 28 and is a tough draw for Gonzalez. He is on the mend after a horrible run of injuries and illness, including a fractured neck vertebra and then impaired hearing and vision from a mystery virus. He comes into the tournament highly motivated, and Gonzalez will have his hands full.
The crowd will get plenty of chances to see Kiwis in action, with three matches featuring New Zealanders scheduled for centre court – two singles and one doubles match. Wild cards Mark Nielsen and GD Jones have matches against Italian Potito Starace and Argentine Mariano Zabaleta respectively, and Nielsen teams up with compatriot Danial King-Turner to take on Juan Ignacio Chela and Sebastien Prieto of Argentina .
Nielsen warmed up for his first round match with a hit with top-seed Guillermo Coria for an hour.
“When you hit with the top guys it's amazing how much better you play,” said Nielsen who feels he has a chance in his match and believes he has nothing to lose.
Considering some of the brutal first round match-ups in singles, Nielsen and Jones have been presented excellent chances to advance. Starace is ranked 76, having climbed from 218 at the end of 2003, and is a clay court specialist. Zabaleta is regular visitor to Auckland but comes to the 2005 Heineken Open ranked 54, having dropped from 27 at the end of 2003.
Meanwhile Slovakian defending champion Dominik Hrbaty, fresh from a 6-4 6-1 win over Heineken Open top seed Guillermo Coria of Argentina in the Hopman Cup and in a hurry to get to Auckland (his happiest hunting ground), was feeling so casual that he forgot about a couple of mandarins in his bag and incurred a $200 customs department fine at the airport.
PEARCE ON BOARD
Heineken Open tournament director, Graham Pearce has been re-elected to the ATP Board of Directors to serve a three-year term as the Tournament Representative for the International Region. Pearce, who has served on the Board since 2000, has been the Tournament Director of the Heineken Open New Zealand for 11 years and CEO of Auckland Tennis for 16 years.
“It's a privilege to have the opportunity to serve on the ATP Board and participate in the future direction of professional tennis,” Pearce said. “I couldn't be happier to be involved in this way.”
Pearce said that chief among his goals was a stable transition in ATP management, the continued success of ATP Properties and the continued growth of the game in expanding markets.
“One of the key goals for this year is successfully replacing Mark Miles as our CEO; the decision will have a big impact on the management and future of the ATP and we need to get it right. Reviewing the governance of the ATP Board is another important issue, as is consolidating the good progress of ATP Properties in the year ahead.
“From an International region perspective, I'm excited by the continued emergence of Asia as a key tennis market and the focus on tennis in the region. Tennis Masters Cup is returning to Shanghai for at least the next three years and the next Olympics will also be in China . [Managing Director, International Group] Brad Drewett and the Sydney office is working hard to take advantage of a great opportunity for tennis in the region.”
Schedule for Monday 10
Centre Court
11am start
Jose Acasuso (ARG) v Julien Benneteau (FRA)
Followed by
Potito Starace (ITA) v (WC) Mark Nielsen (NZL)
Followed by
(5) Fernando Gonzales (CHI) v (WC) James Blake (USA)
Followed by
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) / Sebastian Prieto (ARG) v (WC) Daniel King-Turner (NZL) / Mark Nielsen (NZL)
Followed by
David Sanchez (ESP) v (4) Vincent Spadea (USA)
Followed by
Mariano Zabaleta (ARG) v (WC) G.D. Jones (NZL)
Court 4
11am start
(final round qualifying)
Federico Luzzi (ITA) v Jan Vacek (CZE)
Followed by
(final round qualifying)
Raemon Sluiter (NED) v Bohdan Ulirach (CZE)
Followed by
Agustin Calleri (ARG) / Robbie Koenig (RSA) v (4) Martin Garcia (ARG) / Mariano Hood (USA)
Followed by
Tomas Cibulec (CZE) / Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) v (2) Cyril Suk (CZE) / Pavel Vizner (CZE)
Court 6
11am start
(final round qualifying)
Graydon Oliver (USA) v Jan Hernych (CZE)
Followed by
(final round qualifying)
Michael Kohlmann (GER) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (LUX)
(main draw)
Followed by
Cyril Saulnier (FRA) v Gilles Muller (LUX)
Qualifying second round results
Graydon Oliver(USA) bt WC Jonathan Hooper(NZL) 6-0 6-0
Jan Hernych(CZE) bt Jean-Michel Pequery(FRA) 6-2 6-3
Federico Luzzi(ITA) bt Matt Prentice(NZL) 6-2 6-2
Jan Vacek(CZE) bt Peter Wessels(NED) 6-3 6-4
Michael Kohlmann(GER) bt Rik De Voest(RSA) 2-6 6-2 6-0
Philipp Kohlscreiber(GER) bt Daniele Bracciali(ITA) 6-2 2-6 6-4
Raemon Sluiter(GER) bt Nicolas Almagro(ESP) 6-2 6-0
Bohdan Ulihrach(CZE) bt Francesco Aldi(ITA) 6-4 3-6 6-0
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