Marcos Baghdatis

Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis's comeback stalled in the first round of the Brisbane International as he bowed out to Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

Third seed Fernando Verdasco safely negotiated the first round of the Brisbane International, seeing off wild card Bernard Tomic in straight sets.

The Spaniard rarely looked troubled by the home favourite and cruised to a 6-4 6-2 triumph on Monday.

Former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis went down in three sets to Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

Cypriot Baghdatis, who lost to Roger Federer in the 2006 final at Melbourne Park, took the opening set but eventually slumped to a 5-7 6-1 6-4 defeat.

The draw for the Brisbane International was held today in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall in front of a buzzing throng of tennis fans.

Assisted by former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo and Spanish Davis Cup hero Fernando Verdasco, representatives from the WTA and ATP Tours shaped the make-up of the inaugural Brisbane International.

By chance both Mauresmo and Verdasco were drawn to play Australian foes. Mauresmo will face the re-building Dokic, while Verdasco will meet 16-year-old wildcard recipient Bernard Tomic in what will be a keenly watched match.

Marcos Baghdatis, the exuberant Cypriot who reached the 2006 Australian Open final, has included the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ITC) on his 2009 schedule. Baghdatis will join Mardy Fish, Tommy Haas and the Bryan Brothers at the 17th annual ATP World Tour event that will be played February 21- March 1, 2009 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center.

Baghdatis and his million dollar smile burst on the world stage in ‘06 with a run to the

I have a confession to make. We haven't even hit mid-December yet, and I'm already bested out. Everywhere I turn, people are churning out their annual year-in-review lists: "10 Best ATP Matches of 2008!", "The Best New Tennis Prospects for 2009!", "Five Most Memorable Moments of the Year!", "Nine Best WTA Matches of 2008!" (What can I say, the women's game lacks depth).

Thanks to the holidays and such, December is often a time for reflection.

Who are we to disagree?

A memorable season is over, so we take you through the A-to-Z of tennis in 2008.

A. Alla Kudryavtseva earned a place in Wimbledon history, but upsetting former winner Maria Sharapova in the second round had little to do with it. Kudryavtseva drew laughter in her postmatch press conference and made tabloid headlines when she revealed her motivation for beating Sharapova.

World number three Novak Djokovic will warm up for his Australian Open defence at the inaugural Brisbane International in January, organisers said on Tuesday.
 
Djokovic tops a star-studded line-up for the January 4-11 tournament, which replaces the women's Gold Coast event and the men's Adelaide International.
 

Popular Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis will join David Ferrer of Spain and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the SA Open tennis tournament to be played at Montecasino in Johannesburg from February 2 to 8. Tsonga was on hand in Johannesburg Thursday as tournament organizers announced the addition of Baghdatis and Ferrer to the playing field.

 Former world number one Marat Safin stumbled out of the Paris Masters Series when he lost 6-0 7-6 against Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco in the first round on Monday.

The Russian, three-time winner of the Paris indoor tournament, picked up his game too late to unsettle Monaco, who will next meet France's Gael Monfils, seeded 16th.

"I didn't take my chances and that's why the score is 6-0 7-6," Safin told reporters, adding that he was thinking over his future in the game.