In a day of upsets that saw Novak Djokovic exit the tournament in the first round, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took one hour and thirty two minutes to dispose of Agustin Calleri 6-2 7-5 at the Brisbane International last night.
Over-powering the Argentine with his strong serve and grounds strokes, Tsonga was delighted with the result.
“I am really happy to win today – first match of the year – a good start. Tomorrow [Wednesday] I have another match which I also hope to win.”
In the other double-header of the night Lucie Safarova took control of her match over Queensland’s own Samantha Stosur beating her in straight sets 6-4 6-4.
Stosur fought hard but could not throw Safarova's rhythm as the Czech pounded a succession of winners.
“I thought I played better today than yesterday but Lucie played better. She took the ball early and played really well. I wasn’t in control of the points.”
Latvia’s Enersts Gulbis caused the biggest shock, beating No.1 seed Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
The 53rd-ranked Gulbis took the world No.3 out 6-4 6-4 in less than 90 minutes at Pat Rafter Arena.
Gulbis raced through the first set untroubled and took an early break in the second before Djokovic broke back. But the talented Latvian secured another break and then calmly served the match out to love.
Post-match Djokovic lamented his poor serving and lack of rhythm.
In the other big name line-ups, Brisbane International No.2 seed Victoria Azarenka ended the hopes of Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova in their second-round encounter.
In a match that lasted just over two hours, the Belarussian was forced to fight all the way to an eventual 7-6(4) 7-5 win.
After the match Azarenka admitted that she didn’t expect such a difficult match from the Melbourne-based Gajdosova.
Australian wildcard Brydan Klein also lost to Czech Tomas Berdych, who proved too experienced for the Western Australian.
The Australian Open 2007 boys’ champion went down 6-0 6-4 to the No.5 seed.
Marion Batoli rounded out the seeded games today with a tough battle again Melinda Czink from Hungary 5-7 6-3 6-1.
Pat Rafter Arena Schedule for Wednesday
Emeile Mauresmo(FRA) v Julie Coin (FRA)
Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) v E Gulbis (LAT)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) v Jarkko Nieminen
Ana Ivanovic (SRB) v R Vinci (ITA)
K Nishikori (JPN) v T Berdych (CZE)
Go to www.brisbaneinternational.com.au for live scores.
