By Nick Georgandis
TennisNow.com
There’s no Nadal or Federer in the field, but the 2001 Kooyong AAMI Classic that launches Wednesday morning (Tuesday afternoon in the US) will help ATP fans scratch the itch that otherwise would drive them crazy between now and the start of next week’s Australian Open.
Wednesday’s first session pits Berdych against No. 23 Nikolay Davydenko, who has absolutely owned the Czech over the course of his career, with a 9-1 record.
Berdych finished 2010 at No. 6 in the world, the highest ranking of his career, and earned his lone win over Davydenko en route to reaching the finals at Wimbledon. He was also the runner-up at Miami and finished the season with a 45-26 record. Berdych began the current season with a quarterfinal appearance at Chennai.
Davydenko, ranked slid from sixth to 23rd over the course of the 2010 season, winning just 30 times last year after racking up 57 victories in 2009. He started this season with an extra spring in his step, reaching the final at Doha, which was his only championship appearance in all of 2010.
The second draw of the day will see Hewitt take on Youzhny. The man who has not only a stamp, but also a post card in his honor in Australia is 4-1 against the Russian born Youzhny. Last year was the second rough season for Hewitt in three campaigns. After finishing 67th at the end of 2008, he bounced back to 22nd by the cap of 2009.
After winning Halle and reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last summer, Hewitt faded down the stretch, losing four of his last five matches to fall out of the Top 50.
Youzhny had just the opposite of Hewitt’s season in 2010, posting a 43-19 record to crack the Top 10 for the first time in two years. He won two titles – Kuala Lumpur and Munich – and made a tremendous run to the US Open semifinals.
The third match of the day pits the player chomping at the bit to get back on the court against one who has quietly made his way up to the brink of the Top 10.
France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga owns a 2-0 all-time record against Jurgen Melzer, but he’d be willing to play anyone at this point. Injuries limited Tsonga to future matches (47) in 2010 than he had wins (53) in 2009.
Tsonga did some of his finest work last year in Australia, reaching the semifinals of the US Open thanks to a five-set marathon win in the quarterfinals against Novak Djokovic.
He takes on Melzer, who, despite his “advancing age” of 29, crept up to a career-best No. 11 at the end of last season, compiling a 51-25 record just three years removed from a 23-25 mark.
This is Melzer’s 2011 debut as he hopes to continue the success that saw him win Vienna a year ago.
Kooyong’s Wednesday night cap should be a marvelous matchup of two of the most athletically-gifted men on the tour today – Verdasco against No. 12 Gael Monfils.
Verdasco is looking to get the bitter taste out of his mouth after absorbing a first-round upset loss at the hands of Benjamin Becker in Brisbane last week. Verdasco finished ninth last year to narrowly miss the ATP Tour Championships in London.
He’s 0-2 all-time against Monfils, the enigmatic Frenchman who enjoyed a second straight relatively healthy season, winning one title and reaching three finals.