Re: The 2012 season is here! Aussie Open Q up next.
Well done Rycka
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Former ITF junior world No.1 Ricardas Berankis overcame windy conditions to record victory in the opening round of the Australian Open men’s qualifying competition on Wednesday, while former Melbourne Park finalist Arnaud Clement crashed out in his first match.
Berankis, the No.13 seed in the draw, defeated Fabrice Martin of France, 6-4 6-4.
The match didn’t begin until after 1.30pm as rain delayed the start of the qualifying competition, but the Lithuanian said he was pleased to be into the second round.
“It was pretty heavy conditions today, with the wind it was pretty hard to play. I thought he served really well in these conditions but I think I managed to return well on the important points,” Berankis said.
The former ITF junior world No.1 became the highest-ranked Lithuanian player in history in 2010 and peaked at No.73 after a third-round appearance at the Australian Open last year.
He knocked out former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian in round two at last year’s Australian Open before losing to world No.7 David Ferrer.
After an injury-interrupted 2011 season, which saw his ranking slide out to 132, Berankis was keen to get his 2012 season off to a good start.
“I like Australia, I made the junior semi-finals here and last year made the third round, so I have great memories coming back,” he said.
Berankis mixed up his game against Martin, winning rallies from the baseline and showing a willingness to move forward and finish points at the net.
In a tight second set, two forehand winners gave Berankis the crucial break in the ninth game.
He was then able to hold serve to love to book a place in the second round, where he’ll play Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut, who defeated Australian wildcard Michael Look 6-4 6-4.
SOURCE:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2012-01-11/201201111326257844776.html