Peter Luczak's Australian Open adventure came to a familiar end at the hands of in-form German Tommy Haas.

In a near-repeat of their US Open first-round clash last year, the Victorian wildcard got off to a flying start, winning the opening set before the class of Haas proved decisive in a 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory.

While disappointed with the loss, Luczak can look forward to banking a cheque for $46,760 and seeing his ranking improve from 139 to the low 100s.

And if, as seems likely, he makes his full Davis Cup debut next month against Switzerland, the Warsaw-born Luczak can take heart from his ability to match it with the big guns.

For although Haas' ranking currently sits at a lowly 41, he is indisputably among the world's most talented players, as evidenced by his win over Roger Federer at Kooyong last week.

"(Haas) is an incredible player, he's made quarters or semis here before," said Luczak.

"The thing I can take out of it is that maybe if I can hang with him for most of the match I should be able to compete with these guys on a more regular basis.

"He's got incredible groundstrokes, he can go either way off both sides, forehand and backhand.

"Especially the backhand up the line is normally a tough shot for most players but he hits it incredibly well.

"Anything in his strike zone and you've got problems."

Luczak took his only chance to break Haas' serve in the opening set and then didn't get another break opportunity for the entire match.

In comparison, the German was able to break Luczak's serve once in each of the last three sets.

The Australian now plans to take a couple of days off to play golf and spend time with his girlfriend, although if the call comes from Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald he will be straight back onto the practice court in preparation for the February 10-12 claycourt tie in Geneva.

The other test for the 26-year-old Luczak will be taking the same attitude back to the challenger tour so he can book enough rankings points to ensure he plays in the major events on merit, rather than requiring wildcards.

"I'm sure it's going to be a little bit difficult but you've just got to mentally prepare for that," he said.

"If you want to get ready for the bigger stage, obviously a guy of my ranking, I've got to play some of the small tournaments first.

"This just gives me a taste of where I'd like to be at and I'm going to have to be mentally strong and compete like an animal out there to get past the challenger level."

Haas, a former world No.2 whose year-end ranking was as high as No.8 back in 2001 before he was forced to miss the entire 2003 season due to shoulder surgery, believes Luczak's lowly ranking does little justice to his talent.

"I think he's one of the hardest workers on tour," said the German.

"He's on the way up and he's going to have some good results if he keeps playing like that."

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