It's never to late to go to St. Petersburg for some tennis during the next-to-last week of the ATP season. Jarrko Nieminen did just that and got rewarded, posting a 7-5, 6-2 win over Serb
Janko Tipsarevic in the first round on Monday in Russia.
The fifth-seeded Finn broke Tips four times to earn his 53rd win of the season and a second-round meeting with
Potito Starace, who defeated fellow Italian
Daniele Bracciali 6-3, 6-3.
Czech
Lukas Dlouhy won his first tour match since July, defeating No. 8 seed Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Dlouhy will now face 18-year-old Ernest Gulbis, a Latvian wildcard who defeating
Robin Vik 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) for a first win on the ATP circuit.
South African net-rusher
Wesley Moodie overcame a set and 3-5 deficit to disappoint Russian wildcard
Teimuraz Gabashvili 2-6, 7-5, 6-3. Moodie will await the winner between top-seeded
Nikolay Davydenko and Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro.
