US Open tennis: Laine progresses in straight sets, Nieminen tumbles at first hurdle

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Emma Laine made light work of disposing of her first-round opponent at the US Open in New York, the season’s last Grand Slam tennis tournament. She beat Meilen Tu of the United States 6-1, 6-1 in almost exhibition style.
      Laine, the No. 1 Finnish woman player, may yet wish she had had a slightly more strenuous workout in the first round, since she will have to step up a lot in class to overcome her next opponent, the 4th seed and world No.5 Elena Dementieva of Russia. If the unseeded Emma Laine progresses to the third round at Dementieva’s expense, it will be among the major upsets of the tournament.
     
In the men’s singles, the Finnish No.1 Jarkko Nieminen failed to repeat his performance of last year, when he reached the last eight in this competition. Nieminen, seeded No.13, was unceremoniously bounced out by the unseeded Xavier Malisse of Belgium, losing 6-4,7-5,6-2.
      The defeat will naturally be a big disappointment, as will the loss of a healthy number of ATP points from this time last year. Nieminen’s ATP ranking - he was 15th going into the US Open - looks set to fall a few places as a result of his early exit.


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