Tennis: Wham, bam! It's a slugfest

By TERRY MADDAFORD

It was billed as a slugfest between two of the hardest-hitting rising stars on the international circuit, but few had foreseen just how explosive it would be.

On one side, world No 18 and one of last year's biggest movers, 22-year-old Chilean Fernando Gonzalez. On the other, the No 62, 21-year-old Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

The warm-up politely out of the way, it was all bristling business. Nothing social about the way these guys play tennis.

Wham, bam, next point please. Nothing subtle. Just power. Rocket-like serves. Returns which never left you wondering.

Closing in on his first US$1 million ($1.88 million), Gonzalez, a two-time winner in 2002 and seeded third for the Heineken Open, was expected to overpower his younger opponent.

No one told Lopez, who eventually went down 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 2-6.

They traded serves in the first set to 4-3, with Lopez thundering down five aces and just one double fault.

Gonzalez served his first ace for the first point of the eighth game, but then lost his way.

Lopez won four points without reply for 5-3. Aided by his sixth ace, he served it out for love in the next for the first set.

The shell-shocked ASB Tennis Centre crowd sensed an upset.

The second set was more of the same as it ran its course to 6-6 and the inevitable tiebreak.

They thrashed their way to 5-5 with Lopez mixing it up with an ace and a double fault. Gonzalez, behind 2-3, closed to 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5. Ahead 6-5 he closed it out with a crashing second-serve ace.

The effort told on Lopez.

Try as he might, he could not lift. He lost the first game of the third set - again a mixture with an ace and double fault - and later the fifth, despite fighting back to deuce with a great volley at the net.

Gonzalez finished it dropping one point.

The stats told the story. Gonzalez, a first-serve percentage of 76. Lopez just 57. Lopez six double faults. Gonzalez three - all in the second set. Lopez six aces in each of the first two sets. In the third, just one as Gonzalez finished the 1h 39m battle where faint hearts had long gone.

The full house loved it, just as they had earlier when Argentines David Nalbandian, the second seed, and Mariano Zabaleta also went toe-to-toe in a three-set, 2h 3m thriller.

Watching from the dugout at ground level, the power and speed was even more evident as 24-year-old Zabaleta fought back from a set down to win the second in a tiebreaker and went on to take it in three - 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 - and book a second-round clash with American Vince Spadea today.

For Nalbandian, who celebrated his 21st birthday on New Year's Day, it was a disappointment.

A quarter-finalist here a year ago and later the beaten Wimbledon finalist en route to finishing the year as the top-ranked Argentine, he broke Zabaleta twice in winning the first set.

He and Zabaleta traded breaks at the start of the second and again in the fifth and eighth games as they headed for the tiebreak.

After taking a 3-0 lead, Zabaleta made sure of it as he mixed a deft drop-shot at the net and then an even better passing shot with his power game.

Nalbandian had his chance at 3-1 in the third, but at 3-5 (after being broken in the sixth and eighth games) he was gone. Zabaleta finished it with a clean winner.

At the same time on a back court, Guillermo Coria ensured there would be at least one other Argentine in the second round when he beat Spaniard David Sanchez in another three-set nailbiter.

But any chance Zabaleta and Coria might have had of being joined in the last 16 by countryman Agustin Calleri ended when he went down in two to an American qualifier, Robby Ginepri, 6-7 (5-7), 5-7.

Eighth-seeded Italian David Sanguinetti rarely threatened in losing to Dutchman Raemon Sluiter 3-6, 3-6.

Top seed and world No 7 Jiri Novak, of the Czech Republic, cruised into the second round last night, dispatching American qualifier Robert Kendrick 6-2, 6-3.