Tomas Berdych is in day one action against Albert Ramos as the 2012 Australian Open gets underway.
Berdych has never been further than the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and the big Czech will be determined to put that right this fortnight. Achieving that feat will probably require getting past Rafael Nadal but the seventh seed has the best part of a week and a half to play himself into sufficient form.
Berdych's preparation has been mixed. He played brilliantly at the Hopman Cup, winning all four singles rubbers to help the Czech Republic win the title but then he was distinctly average in windy conditions at the Kooyong Classic last week, crashing out in round one to Bernard Tomic.
Berdych may be struggling outdoors but he has a nice draw in Melbourne. Auckland finalist Olivier Rochus may await in round two and Kevin Anderson could be a tricky third round opponent but neither of those clashes will give him sleepless nights.
Ramos is playing his first ever Australian Open after emerging from the clay-court events of the challenger circuit last summer and he's currently ranked 65 in the world but the Spanish left-hander has never beaten anyone of Berdych's class and has looked a little out of his depth against the top players. He was soundly beaten 6-2, 6-1 by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Doha.
Prediction: Berdych in three.
