Jarkko Nieminen through to last sixteen in Australian Open
Dark horse Kohlschreiber overcomes Roddick to become Nieminen's next opponent
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Finland's tennis No.1 Jarkko Nieminen came through his Australian Open 3rd round encounter with the unseeded Mardy Fish of the United States in four sets, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-1.
The match, played on Friday evening in Melbourne and in the late morning local time here, lasted just over two and a half hours, and Nieminen clearly benefited from a slew of unforced errors by Fish.
The American produced noticeably more outright winners than his opponent, but at the same time was guilty of 60 unforced errors to just 24 by the Finn.
Fish was on top during the first set, and took it with the only break of service.
Thereafter, however, Nieminen buckled down to his task and began to play the sort of game he had envisaged beforehand, keeping his opponent close to the baseline and being very stingy with unforced errors.
The second set, in which both men produced some high-quality baseline rallies, went with service up to the tie-break, where Nieminen pounced on a couple of early mistakes and held on to win it 7-4.
In the third, Nieminen's consistency began to take its toll on Fish, and while the Finn again did not come close to the American in outright winners, the difference in the number of unforced errors and some canny play at pressure-points allowed him to break twice for 6-3.
By the fourth set, Fish was becoming very wayward, and produced 16 unforced errors to just two from Nieminen, who waltzed on to record a comfortable 6-1 win.
Nieminen was naturally delighted to have progressed into the last sixteen: "This was a really good match. In the final two sets I got to producing just the sort of tennis that I want to play. This is a good space from which to head into the second week. I played well today, and most important of all my head was really together. Getting into the fourth round was an important first target to set my sights on."
Certainly it is a great improvement on his second-round exit last year, and this is the first time in his career that Nieminen, seeded 24th on this occasion, has made the last sixteen at the Australian Open.
He reached the 4th round at Roland Garros in Paris in 2003. At the US Open (2005) and Wimbledon (2006) he has also advanced into the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam event.
In order to emulate those two feats in Melbourne, he will have to dispose of an awkward customer in the shape of Phillipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, who upset sixth-seed Andy Roddick in the final third-round match in the bottom half of the draw.
This was a truly epic encounter, regarded by most pundits as the best match of the tournament so far by a country mile. Kohlschreiber played inspired tennis, coping adequately with Roddick's fearsome service and pulling off a string of quite fabulous returns, particularly on his backhand, where he generated many of his astonishing total of 104 winners.
Roddick - who was at times somewhat edgy and came close to being penalised for verbal abuse of the match referee - could not be accused of serving or playing badly, but he could do little about an opponent who was in the form of his life.
When the dust had settled after four hours on court (and after 2 a.m. in Melbourne), the 29th seed emerged triumphant 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-7 (3), 8-6.
Nieminen and Kohlschreiber have met six times in the past, with Nieminen holding a 4-2 advantage, though the German has won the last two encounters, both times on clay.
The only time the pair have faced each other on a hard surface was at the ATP Masters Series at Indian Wells in 2006, when Nieminen eventually won out 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Nieminen will certainly have his hands full on Sunday, as Kohlschreiber is currently on a hot streak - he won the warm-up tournament in Auckland and is now unbeaten in eight matches.
Whether the euphoria of beating Andy Roddick will exact a toll in the next match is of course another matter. The thought of a possible quarter-final match-up against Rafael Nadal should at least concentrate both men's minds.
Whatever the outcome of Sunday's match, Jarkko Nieminen has enjoyed a very profitable week. For reaching the last sixteen he collects at least USD 80,000, or around EUR 55,000, as well as 150 ATP points.
Victory over Kohlschreiber will roughly double the prize money and bring a further 100 ATP points.
Since he only stands to lose 35 points from the same tournament last year, Nieminen should at least consolidate his position in the Top 30, even though a good many of the players above him are still in the tournament.
And as if playing three tough singles matches were not enough, Jarkko Nieminen and his Swedish playing partner Robert Lindstedt are still alive in the men's doubles.
Very much alive, in fact, as they upset the 3rd seeds Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Julian Knowle of Austria in the opening round. The pair are scheduled to play their second round match against the French duo of Marc Gicquel and Fabrice Santoro on Saturday, though the tournament programme may be affected by rain in Melbourne that prevents play on the outside courts.
More on this subject:
 Composure under fire - Jarkko Nieminen sees off Kohlschreiber and enters Australian Open last eight
Previously in HS International Edition:
Nieminen through in straight sets; Mardy Fish up next in Melbourne (16.1.2008)
Links:
Australian Open: Jarkko Nieminen
Helsingin Sanomat
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