The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net One win split between two draws meant an early exit for Bahamian-born Ryan Sweeting in the first major of the year on the ATP Tour. Sweeting was eliminated from both the doubles draw and main draw this week at the Australian Open, Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific. Alongside fellow American Ryan Harrison, the duo fell to 15th ranked seeds Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins (7-5, 7-6). Sweeting fared better in singles play as he advanced to the second round. He defeated Matthias Bachinger of Germany in three sets (6-4, 6-4, 6-2). In round two, he lost a tough, five-set marathon to fifth ranked Devid Ferrer of Spain, (6-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3). Mark Knowles announced earlier this month that for the first time in his 20-year career, he has decided not to start his ATP Tour in Australia and will miss the year's first major. Knowles, 40, said he will take another month to train before he starts playing at the Sap Open in San Jose, California, on February 13, the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee, starting on February 20 and the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships in Delray Beach, Florida, starting on February 27. The 6'5" Sweeting, a former Bahamian Davis Cup participant, now resides in Ft Lauderdale and is coached by Dustin Taylor. He gained international fame last February when he upset third-seed Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the second round of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships in Florida. He has a current ranking of 849 in the doubles rankings. His highest rank for doubles was a ranking of 139 in February 2008. As for Knowles, after an unpredictable season in which he won just a single title last year and changed partners for most of the year, due to various injuries, he said this year he will carefully pick where and when he will play. "I'm just going to take the extra time to train and make sure that I'm ready," Knowles said. "I really want to spend more time at home, so I'm going to start off with the tournaments close to my family." When he gets started, Knowles will team up with Xavier Malisse in San Jose before he and South African Kevin Anderson play in Memphis. Knowles, who at one point in his career held the number one doubles spot in the world, will start the year off as the No 58th ranked player on the ATP computer list.