Nalbandian wins in Sydney

David Nalbandian underlined his Australian Open credentials as he saw off Jarkko Nieminen to clinch the Sydney International title.

Argentine shrugs off second set blip to secure tenth career title

David Nalbandian underlined his Australian Open credentials as he saw off the challenge of Jarkko Nieminen to clinch the Sydney International title. Nalbandian was forced to battle hard by the unseeded Finn, but overcame a second set blip to record a 6-3 6-7 (9-11) 6-2 triumph. While both players struggled to produce their top form, it was Nalbandian who looked the stronger throughout and eventually he made his class tell to secure a tenth career title. Nieminen, who beat top seed Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals on Friday, has now won only once from nine career finals. Nalbandian was always in charge in the first set with his opponent struggling to deal with his heavy groundstrokes and all-round game. Having taken it 6-3 he looked on course to complete a comfortable straight sets victory as he served for the match at 5-4 in the second. But the Argentine seemed to lose focus and was comprehensively broken to love as Nieminen hauled himself back into the contest. Indeed, the Finn the held three set points at 6-5 but could not convert as Nalbandian forced a tie-break. However he was not to be denied in the breaker, although he needed a further six set-points before he finally squared the match at one set all. But that lapse seemed to galvanise Nalbandian who stepped up a gear, breaking his rival three times in a one-sided deciding set to ultimately seal victory in convincing style with an overhead smash after just over two and a quarter hours.