AAMI Classic

This is an exhibition held in the few days leading up to the Australian Open.  This year, eight men participated: Tsonga, Berdych, Fish, Roddick, Monfils, Raonic, Melzer, and Tomic.  Tsonga said he was a bit fatigued after his travel from Doha, but finished two matches before exiting (the exhibition allows for two matches per player except the finalists who plays three matches).  Raonic was also not 100% and exited after the opening round.

The surprise is Bernard Tomic, the lowest ranked player.  He has reached the final upsetting Berdych and Monfils and will play Mardy Fish in the finals.

Sydney

This was the tournament Juan Martin del Potro made his 2012 debut.  However, he lost in the quarterfinals to Marcos Baghdatis.  Bobby Reynolds upset John Isner in the second round.  This left Reynolds with a quandary.  He could try to qualify for the Australian Open which would mean leaving Sydney early or try to go deeper at Sydney.  He opted for the latter, but lost in the quarterfinals to Jarkko Nieminen.

Many of the top seeds lost early, but possibly did so to rest up for the Australian Open.  Players who go deep often see the event as a goal unto itself realizing it will be challenging for them to reach the second week.  Nieminen beat Istomin in one semis (both were qualifiers) and Benneteau needed a monster game to win the match against Baghdatis in the other semis.  The game went to multiple deuces and lasted nearly 15 minutes.  The final will pit Benneteau against Nieminen.

Auckland

This tournament is held in nearby New Zealand.  Top seed David Ferrer is in the finals.  He beat Verdasco in the semis in straight sets.  He’ll meet Oliver Rochus who upset Philipp Kohlschreiber in three sets.  Ferrer was a semifinalist in last year’s Australian Open.