Kohlschreiber, Tsonga and Dellacqua amongst the highlights of week one

Australian Open Betting / Barry Millns / 18 January 2008 / Leave a Comment

Barry Milns is the man on the spot at Melbourne Park and he gives us his three highlights from the tournament so far.

Andy Roddick aced Philipp Kohlschreiber no less than 42 times in their third round meeting in Melbourne! But the 6th seed and former world No.1 ultimately came off second best to a German determined to prove he is more than a journeyman and show that it takes more than great serving to win at the highest level.

At a career-high ranking of No.27 after winning his warm-up tournament in Auckland, Kohlschreiber advanced without dropping a set through the first two rounds in Melbourne. Then, right from the start against Roddick, he looked cool, calm and collected in his attempt to beat the American for the first time in three matches.

Let's give credit to Roddick, though, for fighting back twice from a set down to level with the German and also for saving four match points late in the deciding set. But rather than reflect on those missed opportunities Kohlschreiber remained incredibly focused on the task still ahead of him and with a flurry of terrific winners in the last game (104 in the match including 32 aces of his own) finally forced his way into the fourth round.

Now available at [65] for the title, Kohlschreiber next faces 24th seed Jarkko Nieminen [230] for a place in his first major quarter final. The Finn leads their head-to-head series 4-2, but Kohlschreiber won both of their last two encounters.

For me another stand-out effort in the first week has come from Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a player also on the rise and hungry to make up for lost time after missing most of 2005 and 2006 through injuries. Not only did the athletic powerhouse from Le Mans outplay 9th seed Andy Murray on the first day, he then kept his focus and drove through to the fourth round with straight sets wins against American qualifier Sam Warburg and Spain's Guillermo-Garcia Lopez.

Having also reached the fourth round last year at Wimbledon, Tsonga must now attempt to beat the man who beat him there, the French No.1 Richard Gasquet.

Tsonga, currently [160] for the title, is [2.12] versus Gasquet at [1.41], the latter also beating his compatriot in last year's Paris Masters Series after losing to him in Lyon. So a tough one to call and to my mind Gasquet will be under more pressure as his country's top contender and could feel it if Tsonga continues to perform as well as he has.

Casey Dellacqua turned up for this year's event having failed to win a single match in her first five visits. Aged 22 and ranked 78th in the world after a steady climb up the rankings last season, primarily on the satellite circuit, she arrived at Melbourne Park with few expectations but a clear determination to make an impression at last.

One week in and she has undoubtedly done that, successive three-set comeback victories over Karin Knapp, 15th seed Patty Schnyder and former champion Amelie Mauresmo, making her Australia's new No.1. The Perth left-hander won 8-6 in the final set against Knapp, ranked nearly 30 places higher; Schnyder also succumbed 8-6 in the decider and Mauresmo, yet another opponent Dellacqua had never faced before, was ultimately outplayed 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Certainly Mauresmo, whose form has been way below her best for a while, played with little confidence, too passively allowed Dellacqua back into the match after winning the first set and rather typically tightened up at the conclusion. But you have to hand it to the last remaining Australian woman for dealing with the huge pressure of facing such an opponent, on such an occasion in the Rod Laver Arena in front of such a big home crowd - when it came down to the wire Dellacqua delivered.

One of only two un-seeded players to reach the last 16 in the top half of the women's draw, Dellacqua, currently trading at [170] for the title, next meets 3rd seed Jelena Jankovic. The Australian, who lost to Jankovic in straight sets when they met last year in Bali, is now [3.3] in the market for Sunday's fourth round contest with the Serb at [1.29].

Considering the battles Jankovic has also been through this week, Dellacqua could certainly make life difficult for her if she can draw again on the crowd's support. But the Serb, who moves well and hits the ball much harder than Mauresmo or Schnyder, could still boss Dellacqua if she gets her on the run because the Australian's movement is not the best.