The Hindu : Sport : Malisse gets the better of Muller

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Tuesday, Jan 01, 2008
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Malisse gets the better of Muller

Nandita Sridhar

Vishnu Vardhan loses to Roger-Vasselin; Nadal and Vidal crash out

— Photo: R. Ragu

ROARING START: The defending champion Xavier Malisse had it easy against Gilles Muller in the first round of the Chennai Open on Monday.

Chennai: The defending champion Xavier Malisse’s dramatic entry in an auto-rickshaw preceded the opening match of the Chennai Open ATP championships on Monday. The opening day, not promising much by way of quality singles action, needed an element of the absurd.

The match between the Belgian Malisse, ranked 112, and Gilles Muller from Luxembourg, ranked 117, seemed relatively sane, if not scintillating. Malisse, quick and precise had it easy against the left-handed Muller, who was inconsistent. Malisse prevailed 6-4, 6-3 in the first round, doing his chances of defence a world of good.

Big serve

Muller’s serve, capable of monstrosity, chose to restrain itself in his first couple of service games. Malisse broke him in the first game of the match, a slip that cost the left-hander momentum. The duo’s exchanges upfront varied in pace, but their shot-selection was patchy.

The man from Luxembourg showed deft hands in his drop shots, his day’s bread-and-butter efforts, but the rest were below par. The Belgian dealt with the drops better in the second set, rushing towards the net quicker and timing his shots well.

No match practice

With no match practice since August, Malisse owed himself a slow start, but Muller’s lack of consistency was a big relief for the defending champion.

The left-handed Muller’s serve came to his rescue when he was down 3-5 in the first. Banging in three straight aces, he showed signs of awakening. But there was nothing more to suggest a comeback.

“Sometimes, you don’t see the ball or touch it. There were such times in today’s match. In every match you get a chance, and you have to have a look-in and take those chances,” said Malisse.

Malisse, with his speed compensating for an elaborate backswing, got into positions well against the left-hander. The Belgian’s lack of match practice was rarely a cause of bother. Rafael Nadal lost in the first round of the doubles event, partnering Bartolome-Salva Vidal. The Spanish duo lost to Marcos Baghdatis and Marc Gicquel 4-6, 4-6. “It’s good to play on Centre Court, and this match was a good warm-up. We got a chance to get used to the atmosphere and the conditions. We are very happy with our performance,” said Baghdatis.

Indian wildcard Vishnu Vardhan lost to Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 1-6, 2-6.

The results: Singles (first round): Xavier Malisse (Bel) bt Gilles Muller (Lux) 6-4, 6-3; Jurgen Melzer (Aut) bt Paul Capdeville (Chi) 6-2, 6-4; Edouard Roger-Vasselin (Fra) bt Vishnu Vardhan (Ind) 6-1, 6-2; Florent Serra (Fra) bt Ivan Navarro (Esp) 6-4, 7-6(6). Doubles: Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) / Marc Gicquel (Fra) bt Rafael Nadal / Bartolome Salva-Vidal (Esp) 6-4, 6-4.

Qualifying final round: Alexandre Kudryavtsev (Rus) bt Igor Kunitsyn (Rus) 6-4, 6-1; Lovro Zovko (Cro) bt Kristian Pless (Den) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2; Rajeev Ram (U.S.) bt Harel Levy (Isr) 7-6(4), 6-1; Alexander Peya (Fra) bt Stefano Galvani (Ita) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

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