Australian Open

Pete entered the Australian Open as the defending champion. He was also beginning his quest to reach his goal of finishing the year at #1 for a sixth year in a row, the most years in the Open era.

Opponents:

1st round: Sjeng Schalken, def. 7-5 6-4 6-2

2nd round: Davide Sanguinetti, def. 6-2 6-1 6-2

3rd round: Magnuss Gustafsson, def. 7-5 6-3 6-4

4th round: Hicham Arazi, def. 7-6 6-4 6-4

Dagger in the Heart: Karol Kucera, then one of the hottest players on tour, having already picked up a tournament win earlier in the year. He defeated Pete 4-6 2-6 7-6 3-6. During the final set, Pete became upset over what he thought was an unfair overrule by the chair umpire. He refused to shake hands afterwards. The year was not starting off the way Pete wanted it to.
Record to date: 4-1