Roddick aiming for bigger prize than Kooyong hat-trick

Roddick said he is working on his Grand Slam preparation this week, not worrying about his Kooyong club record, but he added that Wednesday's 6-3, 6-0 win over Croatian Ivan Ljubicic would prove a boost to his hopes next week.

 "Traditionally, players who have done well here have also done well at the Aussie Open," said the American who helped his country to a record 32nd Davis Cup win last month in beating Russia. "There's nothing wrong with playing matches against top 20 guys."

   A 2006 Australian Open finalist, Marcos Baghdatis, began afresh after a first-round loss in Chennai, beating world number four Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

 Roddick, whose lone Grand Slam title came in 2003 in New York, put this week's tournament into perspective: "I haven't thought about winning three in a row here.

 "It's a great event, but we're all here for the Australian Open."

   The tournament, already missing Roger Federer because of a stomach virus and Tommy Haas from shoulder surgery, is now without David Nalbandian.

 The Argentine's Open preparation is in tatters as he suffered a back spasm during training with Marat Safin at Melbourne Park.

 Nalbandian said doctors have told him he needs to rest for up to four days, a tight timetable with the major starting Monday.

 His place in the draw at the Kooyong club special event was taken by Australian Open junior champion Brydan Klein.

 "I need to rest, take treatment and we'll see how it goes," Nalbandian said. "It occurred after 30 minutes on court.

 "Marat and I were playing points, but I had to stop. For sure I can't play. I can't even hit slowly. It's better to rest and recover the muscle. We have to wait and see."

   Roddick said he got accustomed to the Aussie heat by training for 10 days in Hawaii with coach Jimmy Connors.

 "The week before Christmas we began all-day physical training," he said. "We focused on what we had to do."

By Bill Scott, dpa