February 28, 2007	Wednesday	Safar 10, 1428

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DUBAI, Feb 27: Roger Federer’s first match since winning the Australian Open a month ago brought a bit of a scare and the loss of a set before he reached the second round of the Dubai Open on Monday.

The triple Grand Slam titleholder won the Melbourne event without losing a set in seven matches, but there were moments during Federer's 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-3 success against Kristian Pless when the crowd began to wonder if a major shock might occur.

But Federer looked remarkably relaxed considering the distractions he faced before and during his victory over the world number 86 from Denmark, and he timed the only break of serve in the final set well, surging to 3-1 and then consolidating the advantage three times without alarm.

Federer could have been forgiven had his mind been wandering. On court before the match, he was honoured for having beaten Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 160 consecutive weeks as world number one by being presented with a Waterford crystal vase, a traditional silver Arabian dagger usually given to great warriors, an honorary life time membership of the Dubai Aviation Club, and a large cake, which he cut.

Pless played excellently, saving break points in his first and third service games, and only losing the first set after Federer had sneaked two mini-breaks in the tie-break with wonderfully fluent drive winners.

But in the fourth game of the second set Pless pressured Federer into over-hitting twice with his normally reliable topspin forehand, and even more surprisingly, after breaking that service game, Pless hung on tenaciously to his advantage.

It was then that Federer’s enormous experience and court presence made the difference, for he was able to create an ambience of inevitability about his eventual breakthrough. It came with ubiquitous mixtures of smooth net attacks and athletic hinterland containment.

He next plays Igor Andreev, the hero of Russia's victory over Chile in the Davis Cup earlier this month.

Later the tournament saw its first upset when Tommy Robredo, the number four seed, was beaten by one of the legends of the Dubai Open, Fabrice Santoro.

It was here five years ago the Frenchman came to the court for the final in a wheelchair, having spent the night on a drip in hospital – and somehow won the title.

Now he beat the world number seven from Spain 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 with another display of ambushing net attacks and spin wizardry with his unorthodox double-handed ground-strokes on both wings.

Results (seedings in parentheses):

First round: Dominik Hrbaty (SLO) bt Omar Bahrouzyan (UAE) 6-1, 6-2; Igor Andreev (RUS) bt Marc Gicquel (FRA) 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5; Tomas Berdych (6), (CZE) bt Mohammed Al Ghareeb (KUW) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Florent Serra (FRA) bt Jonas Bjorkman (SWE) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2; Olivier Rochus (BEL) bt Lee Hyung-taik (KOR) 7-6 (4), 6-2; Roger Federer (1), (SWI) bt Kristian Pless (DEN) 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3; Fabrice Santoro (FRA) bt Tommy Robredo (4) (ESP) 7-6 (6), 6-4.

SANIA ADVANCES IN DOHA

DOHA: Indian heart-throb Sania Mirza stormed into the second round of the 1.34 million dollar Qatar Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Italian Romina Oprandi on Monday.

Backed by a strong crowd of expatriate Indians in Qatar, Sania, who was trailing 3-0 in the second set, won six games in a row to complete her second victory over Oprandi this year after her triumph last month in Australia.

Both players carried niggling knee injuries and Sania had to get on-court treatment for several minutes, but that didn't stop her from unleashing some sizzling shots that left the Italian rooted on the court on several occasions.

Sania had to come from behind in the first set too, storming from 3-1 down to take a 4-3 lead and holding serve to consolidate her position further.

After Oprandi won the next game, the Indian closed out the set with ease using her booming forehand to good effect.

Meanwhile, two other Italians avoided Oprandi's fate by advancing into the second round. Francesca Schiavone, the eighth seed here, defeated Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 6-4, while Mara Santangelo ousted Germany's Sandra Kloesel 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

Results(x denotes seeding):

First Round: Sania Mirza (IND) bt Romina Oprandi (ITA) 6-4, 6-3; Francesca Schiavone (ITA x8) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 6-2, 6-4; Mara Santangelo (ITA) bt Sandra Kloesel (GER) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4); Daniela Hantuchova (SVK x6) bt Catalina Castano (COL) 6-1, 6-0.

KUERTEN QUALIFIES FOR MAIN DRAW

LAS VEGAS: Former world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten entered the main draw of the Tennis Channel Open through an unfamiliar door on Monday.

The three-time French Open champion from Brazil defeated Wesley Moodie of South Africa, 6-4, 7-5 in an elimination match. He advanced to the 24-player round robin where he will play either Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic or eighth-seeded Benjamin Becker of Germany on Wednesday.

Moodie won the first game of both sets, but Kuerten never trailed after that.

Kuerten underwent hip surgery in 2004 and played only 17 matches over the next two years. He competed in one singles in 2006 and got back on the court only last month in Chile.

In another elimination match, former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden defeated Bjorn Phau of Germany, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

In Monday’s three round-robin matches, fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to end a three-match losing streak since the Australian Open; Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina beat Evgeny Korolev of Russia 6-3, 6-2; and Paul Goldstein of the US flattened sixth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France 6-1, 6-0.

Results (seedings in parentheses):

Main draw elimination: Danai Udomchoke (THA) bt Robert Kendrick (US) 6-4, 7-6 (7); Thomas Johansson (SWE) bt Bjorn Phau (GER) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; Paul Capdeville (CHI) bt Lu Yen-hsun (TAI) 6-3, 6-3; Feliciano Lopez (ESP) bt Chris Guccione (AUS) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6); Gustavo Kuerten (BRA) bt Wesley Moodie (RSA) 6-4, 7-5; Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) bt Frank Dancevic (CAN) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3; Sam Querrey (US) bt Alex Bogdanovic (UK) 6-3, 6-2.

Round robin: Fernando Verdasco (5) (ESP) bt Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5; Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) bt Evgeny Korolev (RUS) 6-3, 6-2; Paul Goldstein (US) bt Julien Benneteau (7) (FRA) 6-1, 6-0. –Agencies