Aussie Open Day 1: Match Analysis and Picks
By Charles Bricker
Zuzana Ondraskova (+176) vs. Jelena Dokic (-196)
Hard to believe Dokic is now 27 years old and, hopefully, firmly grounded after years of controversy involving her personal life. She's trying to re-establish her game, but months of hard work have left her only at No. 130. She's Aussie, but was born in Croatia and lives in Monte Carlo, so she won't have overwhelming crowd support against the 30-year-old Czech. Ondraskova has never been ranked higher than 74th on tour and the most of her success has come on clay. Head to head is 1-1.
Pick: Dokic
Ryan Harrison (+137) vs. Adrian Mannarino (-152)
This is a great opening test for 18-year-old Texan Harrison, who is being closely followed by U.S. fans. He confronts a little known but rising young French player, Mannarino, who inflated his ranking to No. 80 with a lot of Challenger wins in 2010. Nevertheless, Mannarino took down Juan Monaco at Auckland last week. Harrison: Pugnacious, hard-working and young. He'll be competitive, but. . .
Pick: Mannarino
Igor Andreev (-1000) vs. Filippo Volandri (+760)
This is a matchup of closely-skilled veterans (Andreev 27 years old, Volandri 29) who are playing for the fourth time but not since 2007, with Andreev holding a 2-1 edge. Andreev at No. 79 has a marginal edge over No. 91 Volandri. Igor had his streak of third round Aussie Opens snapped last year when he drew Roger Federer in the first round, but still extended Fed to four sets in the match. Go with the Russian but take him to win match in under 30.5 games.
Pick: Andreev
VIKTOR TROICKI (-625) VS. DMITRY TURSUNOV (+516)
Good start to the year for Troicki, who had three good wins before falling in the final at Sydney to Gilles Simon in two tiebreaks. He'll be in form. Tursunov is a gifted veteran who was flirting with a top 20 ranking before ankle problems beset him the last year and a half. He's working his way back and won a match as he failed to qualify at Brisbane prior to the Australian Open.
Pick: Troicki