World No 8 David Nalbandian said he was racing to be fit for the
season's first Grand Slam after crashing out of the Chennai Open
against little-known Kristian Pless on Tuesday.
The second seed from Argentina blamed a long-standing tendonitis
problem in his left leg for the 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 opening-round upset
in his first match of the year.
"I have had this injury since last year and it affected me a lot
today," said Nalbandian, who turned 25 on Monday.
"Hopefully I will recover soon but it is too early to say if I
will be fit for the Australian Open."
Nalbandian has a distinguished record at the Australian Open,
reaching last year's semi-final after three consecutive last-eight
defeats.
The 25-year-old Pless, ranked 84 and still looking for his first
title on the circuit, fought back from a set down and then 0-3 in
the deciding third set to record his maiden win over a top-10
player.
The Dane broke in the third set's fifth game and again in the
11th to dump Nalbandian out of the $416,000 event.
"I was very happy the way I played," he said. "It's a nice
feeling to scalp a top-10 player for the first time."
Earlier world No 2 and top seed Rafael Nadal of Spain opened his
2007 campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the seasoned German Rainer
Schuettler.
Schuettler, a former world No 5 and 10 years older than the
20-year-old Nadal, was on equal terms until the sixth game in which
he broke the Spaniard to lead 4-2.
But Nadal, cheered by about 700 boisterous Indian fans, broke
back immediately and then dominated the rest of the 85-minute
match.
"The crowd here is just great and I thank them for supporting
me," said Nadal. "It feels like home in Chennai."
"It was good to begin the season with a win but I am not 100
percent yet. I need some more matches for that. But I feel good
with my serves and returns," he said.
Asian star Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, seeded seventh here,
defeated Simone Bolelli of Italy 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in the first
round.
Paradorn, who withdrew from the singles at the Asian Games in
December due to a wrist injury, said he was ready to go all the way
in the Chennai Open.
"I love coming to India and hope I can win here. It would be
just the start I need for the rest of the year," said the popular
Thai, who won the title here in 2003.
Fifth seed Carlos Moya of Spain, a two-time champion here,
overcame a slow start to beat Alexander Waske of Germany 7-6 (7-3),
6-3.
"This was my first match in more than two months so it took time
for me to get into the game," said the 30-year-old Moya, a former
world number one who is now ranked 43rd.
Sixth-seeded Fabrice Santoro of France went through the easy way
when his rival David Skoch of the Czech Republic, suffering a back
injury, conceded the match after losing the first three games.
(China Daily via AFP January 4, 2007)