• ATP Tour

Nalbandian battles through in Auckland

ESPN staff
January 11, 2011
Fabio Fognini throws down his racket in frustration during his defeat to David Nalbandian © Getty Images
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David Nalbandian got his 2011 season off to a winning start with a hard-fought 7-6(3) 6-4 win over Fabio Fognini at the Heineken Open in Auckland.

The world No. 27, who missed last year's Australian Open after withdrawing from the Auckland event with an abdominal strain, set up a second-round clash with Philipp Petzschner, but was made to work hard for the win.

After a single exchange of serves in the opening set, the sixth seed grabbed the upper hand to take the opener on a tiebreak, and after letting an early break point slip away early in the second set, his aggressive tactics paid off as he wrapped up the win after an hour and 49 minutes on court.

Seventh seed Thomaz Bellucci was pushed all the way by American qualifier Michael Russell, but eventually booked his place in the second round with a 6-4 6-7(4) 7-5 victory after nearly three hours on court.

Fourth seed Juan Monaco was ousted at the first-round stage by French qualifier Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-3. Also through to the second round are Victor Hanescu and Robin Haase, while Nalbandian's second-round opponent Petzschner battled past Thiemo de Bakker 6-1 6-7(5) 7-6(3).

Meanwhile, at the Sydney International, Juan Ignacio Chela rolled back the years with a 4-6 6-0 6-3 victory over Radek Stepanek. Chela, who was not won a match in Sydney in eight years, battled back from a set down to book his place in the second round.

Fifth seed Richard Gasquet was not distracted by a lengthy rain delay as he dispatched Australian wildcard Matthew Ebden with a 6-4 6-3 win. Also through to the second round in Sydney are Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Italian duo Potito Starace and Andreas Seppi.

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