Nalbandian outlasts Nieminen for Sydney crown

Tennis Betting Lines

01/17/2009 - Sydney, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian of Argentina gutted out a three-set victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen to capture the Medibank International title on Saturday.

The fourth-seeded Nalbandian posted a 6-3, 6-7 (9-11), 6-2 triumph for his 10th career ATP singles crown. It was also his first in Australia, giving him some momentum heading into the year's first Grand Slam.

"It's very good. Winning a tournament before [the Australian Open] is almost perfect," said Nalbandian. "So very happy for the week that I had here."

Nalbandian knocked off four-time Sydney champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the quarterfinals and cruised to a straight-set win over France's Richard Gasquet in the semis before his tussle with Nieminen.

The unseeded Finn had a much tougher route to the final -- name-wise, as he beat 2008 Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic in the semifinals after a walkover victory against last year's Aussie Open runner-up, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Nalbandian appeared in control and was serving for the match in the second set, but Nieminen broke to make it 5-5 and it eventually went to a tiebreak. Nieminen blew four set points in the tiebreak before converting the fifth to send the match to a decisive third set.

The final set was all Nalbandian, who broke for a 4-2 lead and broke serve again to finish the match.

"The tiebreak was very long," said Nalbandian. "I was a little unlucky some points. But that's the way it is. Then I started playing very good again, and then third set I was in control. It was a good match. A good win."

Nalbandian evened his record in ATP finals to 10-10 and also improved to 7-4 lifetime against Nieminen.

"Today it was a tough match," added Nalbandian. "I feel that I'm going to arrive [in] Melbourne with a lot of confidence. So that's good."

Nalbandian, whose best Grand Slam finish was a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2002, will play in his eighth Australian Open. He has been a quarterfinalist three times and in 2006 reached the semifinals. His first-round opponent next week will be France's Marc Gicquel.

Nieminen, meanwhile, fell to 1-8 all-time in ATP finals. His lone crown came at Auckland in 2006 and last year he was a finalist in Adelaide, a run that propeled him to a quarterfinal finish at the Australian Open -- matching his best Grand Slam result.

"I got a lot confidence from this week," said Nieminen. "I really feel good, and I don't feel physically tired."

Nieminen's first-round foe in Melbourne will be Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.

Saturday's victory was worth a first prize of $78,500 for Nalbandian.

The doubles crown went to the American tandem of Bob and Mike Bryan, who earned a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) victory over the top-seeded duo of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.

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