Home > Sports > News > Reuters > Report

Kuerten edges past Corretja

January 13, 2004 17:07 IST

Holder Gustavo Kuerten battled for almost three hours before beating Spain's Alex Corretja 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 in the first round of the Auckland Open on Tuesday.

The Brazilian, who was given support by the home crowd, overcame the world-ranked number 100 in 2 hours 49 minutes.

"They [the fans] stayed behind me and gave me the hope to hang in there and keep myself in the match. So I would say it was an effort from me and them together and it was really important to have them there."

Kuerten beat Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty in last year's final, and the Slovakian made it through to the second round with an easy 6-3, 6-2 victory over New Zealander Mark Nielsen.

But eighth-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen was upset 6-1, 6-4 by Fabrice Santoro of France in little over an hour.

 


Article Tools
Email this article
Print this article
Write us a letter



Related Stories


Hewitt guides Australia

Blake battles through

Srichaphan cruises into semis



People Who Read This Also Read


'Tennis one of the cleanest'

Doping not a problem: Roddick

Price ready for duel with Sachin







© Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.










Copyright © 2003 rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.