Nalbandian advances
Fourth-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian has survived a major scare to defeat Thailand’s Danai Udomchoke 6-2 6-2 1-6 6-7 (4/7) 6-1 in their first-round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The qualifier proved a gutsy opponent for the South American fourth seed but experience and skill prevailed at the end of the marathon battle.
For Nalbandian it was a match that took some time to get started, the world number four amassing eight unforced errors early in the affair and 61 for the match.
However, it was not long before he took control with an important break of Udomchoke’s second service game, and then Nalbandian raced through the first set.
The second set followed suit, with Nalbandian breaking early and holding his own serve well.
However, the first test for the South American came in the third set when Udomchoke bounced back into the match.
Both players exchanged service breaks early in the third set before Udomchoke took control with two more consecutive breaks on his way to taking the set.
The fourth set soon shaped up to be a battle as both players struggled to get the edge.
Udomchoke looked to have exacted a killer blow with the score tied up on 5-5, but the Thai could not put away a break point and the match moved to a tiebreaker.
However, the Thai soon forced the match into a deciding set, the world number 121 taking the tiebreaker 7/4 after a spate of uncharacteristic errors from Nalbandian.
But, despite a brave effort from Udomchoke, the match was soon the fourth seed’s as he romped home to win the decider with his second match point.
