Brasília, January 19, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - São Paulo's Flávio Saretta makes his debut early Monday (19) morning, at around 1:30 A.M. (Brasília time), in this year's first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open. Saretta will face the Slovakian, Dominik Hrbaty, winner of two consecutive early season titles, in Adelaide and Auckland, and vice-leader of the ATP Champions Race.

Saretta and Hrbaty take the court in different situations. "He (Hrbaty) is arriving in Australia in high gear. He has won ten matches in a row and already won two tournaments," said Saretta. "I believe it will be a very difficult match, especially since it's my first high-level tournament this year. But I´m going on the attack, because I have nothing to lose," he added. On Sunday (18) he trained in both the morning and afternoon.

The Brazilian will also dispute the Australian Open doubles tournament, alongside Minas Gerais's André Sá. (DAS)