Blake, Moya ready to battle once again

Updated: January 15, 2007, 11:46 AM ET

After meeting in the final in Sydney last week, James Blake and Carlos Moya go head-to-head in the first round of the Australian Open.

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DAY 2 NOTABLE MATCHUPS

By Matt Wilansky, ESPN.com

No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. Robert Kendrick
Unlike Wimbledon six months ago, Nadal will understand what's in store when he meets Kendrick. At the All England Club, Nadal had to claw his way back from a two-set deficit in order to beat the American and avoid a monumental upset. The 6-foot-3 Kendrick has a big-time serve and unquestionably feels more comfortable on faster surfaces. He fired 28 aces against Nadal in their meeting at Wimbledon. Nadal returns to the Australia Open for the first time in two years after missing last season with a foot injury. Nadal reached the fourth round in 2005 in Australia -- his best result -- before falling to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round.

No. 5 James Blake vs. Carlos Moya
No seeded player has a more difficult task than Blake when he opens up against former world No. 1 Carlos Moya. Blake is coming off a three-set win in the Sydney International final last week against Moya. While there is no reason to think Blake won't be oozing confidence, Moya has had his share of success Down Under, including a trip to the 1997 final before running into Pete Sampras. Blake has made significant strides the last couple of years after his tragic 2004 season. Now the question is whether he is capable of winning a Grand Slam. With the exception of the U.S. Open, the fifth-ranked American has never played particularly well in majors. Blake and Moya have met nine times in their careers. Moya leads the series 5-4, but has lost the last three.

Ann Heisenfelt/AP Photo

James Blake will play Carlos Moya for the second time in less than a week.

No. 29 Xavier Malisse vs. Arnaud Clement
Malisse is a talented all-court player who is coming off a title at the Chennai Open, a tournament in which he disposed of top-seeded Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Malisse, though, has just one win at the Australian Open in the last three years. The 26-year-old Belgian's most successful Grand Slam appearance was a semifinal showing at Wimbledon in 2002. Clement is a former runner-up at the Australian Open, but that was six years ago. Last season, he won just a single match in the three majors he competed in; however, he did win two titles in 2006, snapping a three-year drought. Malisse has upended Clement in four of their five matches, but the Frenchman did win their last encounter.

No. 4 Kim Clijsters vs. Vasilisa Bardina
There's nothing Clijsters would welcome more than to add to her 2005 U.S. Open trophy. However, the Belgian has only four more opportunities to add to her collection, as Clijsters intends to retire at the end of this year. Clijsters has been well-supported throughout her career in Australia, partially due to her longtime relationship with native Lleyton Hewitt. She's reached at least the semifinals in her last four appearances at the year's first major, but has never been able to take home the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy. Clijsters enters the Aussie Open with much confidence after opening up her year with a championship win in Sydney. Her first-round opponent, Bardina, is ranked No. 48 in the world.

No. 6 Martina Hingis vs. Nathalie Dechy
The second year of Hingis' comeback is under way. Last season, she exceeded all expectations with her year-end No. 7 world ranking, including two titles. She opened up 2007 with a runner-up finish at Gold Coast. Hingis is a three-time Australian Open champion, a feat she pulled off in consecutive seasons, from 1997-99. Although her track record indicates otherwise, Hingis has a potential tricky opening-round matchup this season against Dechy. Dechy is playing Down Under for the 12th straight year. In 2005 she reached the semifinals -- her best-ever result at any Grand Slam. However, against Hingis, Dechy is 0-6.

No. 13 Ana Ivanovic vs. Vania King
Ivanovic and King are a combined 36 years old. Ivanovic, 19, is one of two up-and-coming Serbian-born players on the WTA Tour. (No. 11 Jelena Jankovic won her first-round match.) Ivanovic has reached the quarterfinals in each of the two tournaments she has competed in this season. Last year, she won her second career title, and first at a Tier I event, in Montreal. The jury is still out on King. She has one career title, a feat she pulled off in Bangkok last season. King and Ivanovic will meet for the first time.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Lucas Dawson/Getty Images

When Monday's scuffle in Garden Square at the Australian Open between Serbian and Croatian was over, 150 fans were ejected by event security.

ADVANTAGE LUKE JENSEN

DAY 2 PREVIEW

REPLAY DEBUTS DOWN UNDER

Defending women's champion Amelie Mauresmo became the first player at the Australian Open to challenge a line call using a high-tech instant replay system, with mixed results. She twice challenged calls by line judges in her first-round match against Shenay Perry, seeking a review via giant TV screens set up at center court at the Melbourne Park venue.

Her first challenge was upheld, but she lost the second. Mauresmo went on to win the match 6-3, 6-4, and later praised the system, saying it should be added to Melbourne Park's second featured court.

"It's good for everybody, for the players, for the umpires," she said. "Sometimes they make mistakes or we make mistakes, and it's very easy to correct. And for the crowd, as well, I think it's pretty good because they get involved into the decisions, the match."

The system is being used for the first time at the Australian Open, though only in the main Rod Laver Arena. The 2006 U.S. Open was the first Grand Slam tournament to introduce the system, although the technology had been used at other ATP events.

Andy Roddick, who heavily criticized a chair umpire over a disputed line call in his first-round win, said the cost of expanding the technology to other courts at Melbourne Park would be prohibitive.

"You have to understand that it costs a pretty big amount of money to put the technology in," said Roddick. "It's a pretty big price check."

He later said the technology should be added to at least the second featured venue where he played, and perhaps the third show court.

"Personally, I'd like to see it," said Roddick.

-- Associated Press

STAT OF THE DAY

1 -- In 1979, Virginia Ruzici became the only No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the Australian Open. She was eliminated by Australian Mary Sawyer.