Tursunov to face familiar foe in Australian Open

Dmitry Tursunov, based in the Sacramento area, earned his
first singles victory in the Australian Open since 2008.
File photo by Paul Bauman

   Dmitry Tursunov and Denis Istomin will need no introduction when they meet on Wednesday (tonight in the United States) in the second round of the Australian Open.
   Tursunov beat his fellow Moscow native 7-6 (5), 6-2 last week in the Sydney quarterfinals to improve his career record against Istomin to 3-0.
   Tursunov, based in the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay and seeded 30th in Melbourne, advanced to the second round with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 victory over 5-foot-8 (1.73-meter) Michael Russell, 35, of Houston on Monday.
   It was Tursunov's first singles victory in the Australian Open since he reached the second round in 2008. He missed the tournament in 2010 and last year because of injuries. His best result in Melbourne is a third-round appearance in 2007.
   Istomin, who represents Uzbekistan, ousted 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. Istomin reached the final of the 2012 SAP Open in San Jose, losing to Milos Raonic of Canada.
   The winner of the Tursunov-Istomin match probably will face No. 2 seed and three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the third round.
   Bradley Klahn, a 23-year-old Stanford graduate making his main-draw debut in the Australian Open, lost to No. 22 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 today in the first round.
   Dimitrov, the 22-year-old boyfriend of Maria Sharapova, is nicknamed "Baby Fed" because his game resembles Roger Federer's.