Nieminen through in straight sets; Mardy Fish up next in Melbourne

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If Jarkko Nieminen had required the full five sets to dispose of one North American at the Australian Open on Monday, he needed only three on Wednesday to come through against another, Jesse Levine of the United States, 6-2, 7-5, 7-6.
      In the end Nieminen won his way to the 3rd round relatively comfortably against the young American, ranked 176th in the world, but interestingly enough this match was actually longer in time spent on court than the five-set opener against Frank Dancevic of Canada.
      Nieminen had warned as much beforehand, saying he expected longer rallies from the American, who received a wild card entry to the Australian Open.
     
Both players were affected by a gusty wind blowing on the court, which may have accounted for the large total of 13 breaks of service in the match.
      Levine, 20, played aggressively and approached the net frequently, but his lack of experience was evident in the number of unforced errors he made, which outnumbered Nieminen's by 58 to 30.
     
The match probably hinged on the second set, where Nieminen pulled himself up from 2-5 down to take the set 7-5, winning five straight games.
      In the third set, which was again littered with service breaks on both sides, Nieminen was serving for the match at 6-5, but two double faults at the critical moment forced the set into a tie-break, which he eventually won easily, 7-2.
     
His reward in the third round is a meeting with yet another North American, as Mardy Fish (ATP 43) of the USA upset 11th seed Tommy Robredo, beating the Spaniard comprehensively 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.
      Robredo was the biggest casualty of the early part of Wednesday’s games in the men’s singles, but his departure cannot really be seen as such a shock, since he has not looked to be in good form this year.
      Nieminen and the big-serving Fish have not met before on court in an ATP or Grand Slam event, but Nieminen says he remembers his opponent well from his junior days, as both were born in 1981 and their paths will therefore have crossed often enough on the junior circuit.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Nieminen turns exhibition game into tough five-setter before progressing (14.1.2008)

Links:
  Australian Open: Jarkko Nieminen

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