Nalbandian triumphs ahead of Open
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Nalbandian hits form ahead of next week's Australian Open
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MELBOURNE, Australia -- Argentine David Nalbandian hit form ahead of the Australian Open when he thrashed Andre Agassi 6-2 6-3 to take the Kooyong International crown in Melbourne.
The 22-year-old world No. 8 squeezed through a tight first game and then quickly found the game needed to upset the eight-time Grand Slam winner.
"I feel good with this surface, the balls, everything. It feels perfect. I like to play here in Australia, maybe it's because this is January, the start of a year," said Nalbandian.
Agassi is gunning for a fifth title at the Open from Monday and has played the last five Kooyong finals.
But after losing in one hour, 16 minutes with six double-faults 19 unforced errors and only eight winners, the eight-time Grand Slam champion knows what went wrong.
"I was trying to play a bit too special out there," he confessed. "Give him full credit for playing a good match."
Nalbandian quietly slipped into the Top 10 last season, despite failing to lift a tournament title and suffering during the autumn with a nagging wrist injury.
The problem appeared to carry over into the new year when the 22-year-old withdrew as top seed from last week's AAPT Championships in Adelaide.
But once on court at Kooyong's eight-man warm-up for 2004's first grand slam event, Nalbandian's game flourished.
And Agassi recognised: "He played well on big points...and I found myself appreciating his shots quite often. He strikes the ball very cleanly with a lot of control."
Nalbandian added: "I'm happy to play like this, I played wonderful today. The three matches I had here (he also beat Taylor Dent and world No. 1 Andy Roddick) will help me next week. I'm feeling very good at the moment."
• Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia won his second straight ATP Tour title Saturday, beating Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal 4-6 6-2 7-5 in the final of the Auckland Open.
