KEY POINTS:
Aucklander GD Jones, the world No 623, produced a big result in downing Spaniard Miguel Angel Lopez Jaen in first-round qualifying for the Heineken Open tournament in Auckland yesterday.
Jaen was ranked more than 400 places above him but Jones won 6-2, 6-1 to set up a clash with No 2 seed Oscar Hernandez of Spain.
Meanwhile, New Zealand men's No 2 Dan King-Turner, given the benefit of a late wildcard into the Heineken Open main draw, has a tough first round. He will meet sixth-seeded American Sam Querry, who comes into the tournament beginning in Auckland tomorrow with a career-high ranking of 36.
King-Turner had missed out on a wildcard, which went to top New Zealander Rubin Statham, rising Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori and two-time champion Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia. Nishikori, the world No 63, yesterday became a direct entry into the main draw.
Statham, whose ranking, like King-Turner's, is in the 400s, will face unseeded American Robby Ginepri, the world No 49, in the opening round.
Yesterday's draw has thrown up some eye-catching first-up clashes. Former world No 1 and 2003 French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain will face Nishikori, while sixth-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber has been paired with Hrbaty.
In Brisbane, Spanish Davis Cup hero Fernando Verdasco won through to the inaugural Brisbane International men's final. The third seed was too powerful for out-of-sorts Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, taking out their semifinal 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour at Pat Rafter Arena.
World No 15 Verdasco won six straight games in closing out the first set and jumped to a 5-0 lead in the second. He may still be hailed in his native Spain as the man who won the Davis Cup final-clinching singles tie against Argentina last year, but Verdasco is still largely known for being tennis glamour girl Ana Ivanovic's boyfriend.
However, Verdasco is quickly making a name for himself Down Under after extending his unbeaten run over world No 31 Mathieu to 5-0 to reach the eighth ATP final of his career - the first on hardcourt.
Verdasco had every right to be distracted ahead of his semifinal clash. Ivanovic had already left for Melbourne to prepare for the Australian Open after bowing out of the Brisbane event in the quarter-finals and suffering a stomach bug.
In Hong Kong, world No 1-ranked Jelena Jankovic pulled out of the exhibition tournament through illness, so she has little match practice before the Australian Open.
Jankovic was due to play China's Zheng Jie in a match between losing semifinalists Team Europe and Team Asia Pacific but appeared on court in a green track suit to apologise to the crowd at Victoria Park Center Court.
Playing in Hong Kong as her only preparation for the Australian Open, Jankovic lost to Venus Williams 6-2 6-2 on Thursday.
The Open starts on January 19.
