Tennis: Nalbandian grafts his way into fourth round

MELBOURNE - World No 4 David Nalbandian came from a set and two games down in the second set to graft his way to a 2-6 6-3 6-2 7-5 victory over Jarkko Nieminen in the third round of the Australian Open last night.

The Argentine also came from a break down in the fourth set to line up a fourth round clash with either James Blake or Tommy Robredo.

Nieminen, who won his first ATP tour title in Auckland last week, had the chance to send the match into a decider when he broke Nalbandian in the eighth game of that fourth set but was unable to capitalise and was broken back in the 11th game.

The 24-year-old Nalbandian sealed victory when Nieminen sent a backhand long after a typically long baseline rally.

Nalbandian has reached the quarter-finals at each of the past three Australian Opens and is confident of going even further this year after beating Roger Federer in last year's season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.

His build-up to the Australian Open was disrupted when he pulled out of the invitational Kooyong Classic with a stomach bug though he has obviously recovered as he is managing to last the pace at Melbourne Park.

He needed five sets to win his opening match with unseeded Thai Danai Udomchoke, before taking four sets to beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round.

- REUTERS