Australians James Duckworth, Sam Stosur and Bernard Tomic all feature in Pat Rafter Arena matches on day 4 of Brisbane International 2012.
James Duckworth’s surprise win over Nicolas Mahut in his first ATP match has placed him square in second seed Gilles Simon’s sights. Simon disposed of emerging American Ryan Sweeting in the opening round but will need to be on his guard against Duckworth who showed his mettle by clawing back an early deficit in his match against Mahut.
Second on at Pat Rafter Arena is reigning US Open champ Sam Stosur who is taking on Iveta Benesova. Stosur is yet to make it past the second round of her home event, but she’ll like her chances today – the 27-year old Queenslander holds a 4-0 head-to-head advantage over the 28-year-old Czech left-hander.
Next up it’s Serena Williams and rising Serb Bojana Jovanovski. Williams accounted for Jovanovski in straight sets in their only meeting at the US Open last year. Williams controlled her opening match in the Queensland capital from the outset, something Jovanovski will have to be wary of if she’s to make it to the quarterfinals.
The action isn’t just confined to Pat Rafter Arena, former No.1 Jelena Jankovic, Brisbane International champion Radek Stepanek, Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Haas, Australian Open quarterfinalist Alexandr Dolgopolov, Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, Japanese No.1 Kei Nishikori and Aussies Ash Barty and Casey Dellacqua can all be seen on the outside courts.
As the sun sets on day four of Brisbane International 2012, the night session will get underway. In the first match, Bernard Tomic will play his second Pat Rafter Arena match this week. After surviving a three-set duel with Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 19-year-old Tomic will be hoping his visit to Pat Rafter Arena on Wednesday night is considerably shorter but just as sweet.
> View the complete draws and order of play
Tomic’s first win at his home event removed a monkey from the eighth seed’s back that he was ecstatic to cast aside.
“Winning a round here is a good breakthrough and it gives me confidence to play in the next rounds. To be more focused and win more matches is a good goal and not to lose first round, so I’m happy I didn’t do that,” said Tomic.
Rounding out the night session is the winner out of Andy Murray and Mikhail Kukushkin versus Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller.
Some tickets still remain for the day and night sessions at Pat Rafter Arena. Tickets can be purchased online from Ticketek.