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Written by John Debnam
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Monday, 08 January 2007 07:44 |
Murray reaches new rankings high
British number one Andy Murray has been rewarded with a career-high world ranking of 15th after his run to the final of the Qatar Open.
Murray lost to Ivan Ljubicic on Saturday, but his seeding means he will avoid big names early at the Australian Open, which starts next week.
"To get to the final of an ATP tournament is a great start to the year," said the 19-year-old.
"I should be feeling pretty good when I go into the Australian Open now."
Malisse cruises to Chennai title
Third seed Xavier Malisse thrashed Austria's Stefan Koubek 6-1 6-3 in a disappointing Chennai Open final.
The unseeded Koubek failed to hold a single service game as Malisse took the opening set with ease.
Koubek improved in the second set, but one dropped service in the fourth game was enough for Belgian Malisse to secure his second career title.
Olivier Rocks Defending Champion in Auckland
Diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus stunned defending champion Jarkko Nieminen (pictured) 7-6(3), 6-1 in the first round of the Heineken Open in Auckland Monday. Rochus, the smallest man on the ATP circuit at just 5' 5'', avenged his loss to Nieminen in last year's Auckland semifinals - one of two consecutive losses to the Finn in 2006.
Rochus, who topped 30 match wins last year for the second consecutive season, reached the Doha quarterfinals last week. Nieminen, the World No. 17, was forced to withdraw from Adelaide last week due to a stomach virus and he was unable to practice for a week. He said that he was still not 100 per cent fit.
Two Spaniards, top-seeded Tommy Robredo and No. 3 seed David Ferrer, made successful starts to their 2007 seasons on day one.
Baghdatis, Berdych Advance; Grosjean Falls Early Again
Fourth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis needed 85 minutes to beat Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis 7-6(3), 6-1 for a place in the Medibank International second round.
Fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych took the first step towards a potential quarterfinal meeting with World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in Sydney with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Australian qualifier Robert Smeets. Free-swinging Berdych pounced on Smeets' second serve, winning 71 percent of those points and breaking serve five times.
Spaniard Fernando Verdasco handed French veteran and eighth seed Sebastien Grosjean his second first-round loss in as many weeks with a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Grosjean endured a similar 0-2 start in Doha and Sydney last year but rebounded to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals.
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