TENNIS: Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt led the big guns safely through to the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne yesterday.
Second seed Roddick was made to fight hard against Georgian Irakli Labadze before taking the first set 7-5, but the former US Open champion then eased to victory, taking the second and third sets for the loss of just three more games.
For the third time in a row Hewitt faced Arnaud Clement in the opening round of a tournament, and familiarity must be breeding contempt for the Frenchman, with Hewitt running out a 6-3 6-4 6-1 winner.
Roddick's victory set up a big-serving clash with Britain's Greg Rusedski, who came from a set down to beat Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman in a battle of the over-30s.
The American has beaten Rusedski in their last three meetings, the Briton's only success coming in their first clash at Wimbledon in 2002.
"Greg is tough. He's going to be all over the net and he makes life uncomfortable because you don't see many serve and volleyers any more," admitted Roddick. "I'll have to try and hold my serve and take my chances when I get them."
Rusedski had only one thought in his mind once the draw had been made for the Australian Open and that was to make it through to the second round, where he could expect to face the world number two Roddick. After an early wobble he made it.
Tim Henman's ambitions were rather loftier and the strain showed all too painfully as he stuttered through the latter stages of his first-round match against the Frenchman Cyril Saulnier.
Henman won 6-1 6-2 4-6 6-3 and tomorrow faces the towering Victor Hanescu. It should not be a match to trouble him unduly, for the Romanian is not the swiftest of movers. Yet after an encouragingly positive start against Saulnier the indecision and negativity that have so often plagued his game on this continent returned to bring pallor to his cheeks and dark shadows around his eyes.
He should have killed Saulnier off, having taken the first two sets in under an hour. Instead he allowed the Frenchman, who nearly beat Henman in the first round of the French Open last year, to raise his game and garner fresh confidence.
Champions do not allow this to happen and Henman will need to pull himself together rapidly if he is to get beyond the last 16, something he has failed to achieve in eight journeys here.
Meanwhile, the last man to beat Roger Federer had earlier bowed out in the first round. Tomas Berdych overcame Federer in three sets in the second round of the Olympics in Athens in August, the last time the world number one tasted defeat.
But the 19-year-old Czech player was no match for Argentina's Guillermo Coria in Melbourne, with the sixth seed recording a 6-2 6-4 6-0 victory.
Compatriot Guillermo Canas, who defeated Henman in the third round last year and could face the him in the fourth round this year, defeated home favourite Chris Guccione 6-4 6-2 7-6 and will face Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the last 64. Verdasco was a straight-sets winner over Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.
