Johansson makes a winning comeback
ADELAIDE, Australia -- Former Australian Open tennis champion Thomas Johansson returned to action after a 14-month absence with a 6-1 6-3 win over Christophe Rochus at the Australian hardcourt championships.
The Swede overwhelmed his Belgian opponent, combining accurate ground strokes with a dangerous serve.
In other first round matches, second-seeded American Vincent Spadea beat Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Taylor Dent of the U.S. beat Peru's Luis Horna 6-2 6-1.
Finnish sixth seed Jarkko Nieminen defeated South African Wesley Moodie 4-6 7-6 7-5.
Johansson looked to be back to near his best after suffering for so long with a knee injury that threatened his career.
"I saw the ball as a football out there so it was a lot of fun," said Johansson.
"I haven't played a match for so long so I've been looking forward to this moment every single day.
"To play as well as I did tonight was a bit of a surprise to me. Even my forehand worked well, which can be a bit of a weakness in my game."
Top seed Wayne Ferreira of South Africa launches his campaign on Tuesday against Australian wildcard Todd Reid.
Schuettler beaten in Doha
• Germany's Rainer Schuettler, ranked sixth in the world and seeded second, suffered a shock first round defeat at the Qatar Open in Doha, beaten 6-3 7-6 by Russian Mikhail Youzhny.
In other matches, Armenia's Sargis Sargsian beat France's Gregory Carraz 3-6 6-0 6-3 and Bohdan Ulirach of the Czech Republic beat German Nicolas Kiefer 6-2 6-1. British seventh seed Tim Henman thrashed David Sanchez of Spain 6-4 6-0.
• Seventh seed David Ferrer of Spain survived a first set setback against compatriot Fernando Verdasco to reach the second round of the Indian Open in Madras, winning 1-6 7-5 6-0.
Top seed Carlos Moya and defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan begin their campaigns on Tuesday.
