Posted at 6:15 a.m., Sunday, January 6, 2008
Tennis: France's Llodra captures men's hardcourt title
Associated Press
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) _ Michael Llodra made the most of his late addition to the Australian men's hardcourt tennis championships by winning the final today, beating Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-4.Llodra was only able to enter the main draw when French compatriot Richard Gasquet pulled out with a knee injury.
He did not drop serve all week on the way to winning the title at the second attempt, having been a beaten finalist in 2004.
Llodra took a 3-0 lead in the first set and stayed in control for the rest of the match, winning his second career ATP title after S'Hertegenbosch in 2004.
"I had a good feeling today, especially from the baseline," Llodra said. "I was very solid until the end."
Martin Garcia of Argentina and Marcelo Melo of Brazil won the doubles title, beating the Australian pair of Chris Guccione and Robert Smeets 6-3, 3-6 and 10-7 in the match tiebreaker.
It was the last time that the Memorial Drive courts hosted the Australian hardcourt title. Next year, the tournament will shift to Brisbane in Queensland state and be combined with the women's hardcourts as a joint ATP-WTA event.
