Brisbane, Australia (My Sportsbook) - Spain's Fernando Verdasco was a first- round winner on Monday at the $484,750 Brisbane International, while American Mardy Fish was handed a three-set loss at the season-opening 2009 ATP World Tour event. Verdasco, the tournament's third seed, rolled past Bernard Tomic by a 6-4, 6-2 score in just over an hour of action. Verdasco overcame three aces by Tomic while breaking the Australian four times. The sixth-seeded Fish rallied after dropping his first set to Jurgen Melzer of Austria, but was ultimately dealt a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) loss. Radek Stepanek was another seeded winner on Monday, as the Czech dispatched Igor Kunitsyn of Russia, 6-2, 6-2. Stepanek is seeded eighth. Finland's Jarkko Nieminen moved on after defeating Marcos Baghdatis, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4. Top seed Novak Djokovic is slated to open play on Tuesday against Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. Djokovic is the defending Australian Open champion. This tournament was formerly played in Adelaide, and was captured in 2008 by Frenchman Michael Llodra, who topped Nieminen in the final. |
