Barthel d. Niculescu

Barthel beat Niculescu 6-4, 7-5 in the first round at the Australian Open - Melbourne. Barthel won 85 of 157 points (54%). Barthel hit 2 aces to 1 and won 76% of points behind the first serve (35/46) against 71% for Niculescu. The second serve told: 48% won for Barthel, 27% for Niculescu. Barthel converted 3 of 7 break points and saved 5 of 6 faced; Niculescu converted 1 of 6. Niculescu double-faulted 6 times. The match was played on hard in Australia.