Baghdatis on course for Hewitt match-up

Marcos Baghdatis edged closer to a potential third round showdown with Lleyton
Hewitt after brushing aside Australian Nick Lindahl 6-2 7-5 at the Sydney
International on Monday.
Baghdatis and Hewitt have not met since their epic Australian Open clash in 2008
where Hewitt prevailed in five sets in a match that lasted until 4.30 in the morning
- the latest finish in Open history.
Baghdatis admitted his serve will need some work if he is to progress any further in
this competition, with Lindahl giving the world No.42 a scare when he broke him to
level the second set, before the Cypriot won the last three games.
"I didn't play that good, I didn't serve very well and had a very low percentage on
first serve," Baghdatis said.
"But I got a match of one hour, 15 minutes in the heat, that's good. There are a lot
of positive things out of this match and some negative, I'll work on the negatives
and keep the positives."
Lindahl, who beat Bernard Tomic last month to secure a wildcard for the main draw of
the Australian Open, admitted he had been overawed by playing on Ken Rosewall Arena.
"It was pretty gusty out there and there were a lot of people, I haven't really
played in that atmosphere much and it took a while to get used to," he said.
"I didn't play my proper game today, I just tried to go for a bit too much, I was a
bit nervous."
Hewitt will face Italy's Andreas Seppi in the second round after the world No.49
beat Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic 6-4 6-4 on Monday.
Seppi has a 2-1 record over Hewitt and beat the South Australian in the
quarter-finals in Sydney in 2006 and confident of pulling off another shock victory.
"He was one of the first top 10 players that I beat in my career and it was a very
big moment for me and my development and I am looking forward to facing him again,"
Seppi said.
"I am in good shape and it is always nice to play on the big courts against the top
players and I have nothing to lose and if I play my best then I am more than capable
of beating him."
Richard Gasquet also cruised into the second round with a comfortable 6-4 6-1 win
over world No.46 Feliciano Lopez of Spain.
The French former world No.7, who missed Wimbledon and the French Open after being
banned for two-and-a-half months after traces of cocaine were found in his system,
has slipped to 53 in the rankings after a nightmare 2009.
However, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against the World Anti
Doping Agency's (WADA) call to increase the ban to two years, Gasquet said he can
focus fully on getting his career back on track.
"I am happy. I just want to enjoy now because I had a big story , I was a really
tiring eight months with it in the head. It was horrible," he said.
"It is more tiring than to play 10 grand slams in a row, so I am not fresh, trust me."
Earlier in the day No.1 seed Gael Monfils withdrew from the tournament due to a
shoulder injury.