WTA Jan. 19-Feb 1 Australian Open Melbourne, AUS Grand Slam 128 players - $19,000,000 total WTA&ATP IBM Real-Time Scoreboard - photos order of play - completed matches singles draws: women's - women's, .pdf - men's doubles draws: women's - men's post-match interviews site map - women's qualifying draw Melbourne: city map s1 # 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne s2 # 2 Kim Clijsters s3 # 11 Venus Williams s4 # 4 Amelie Mauresmo

tourney archive: previous tourney page     next tourney page #1 Justine Henin-Hardenne 5' 5¾", 126 lbs, RH, 1H-BH 3rd Grand Slam Title 16th Singles Title in 26 Finals

    On Saturday in Melbourne, in the final of the 2004 Australian Open, 21-year-old, top-seeded # 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne from Liege, Belgium defeated her compatriot, 20-year-old, 2nd-seeded # 2 Kim Clijsters from Bilzen, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 (Justine is shown during the match and with the hardware afterwards).

    After winning the 1st set, Justine took a 4-2 lead in the 2nd before Kim won 4 straight games to take the set. Justine then won 4 straight to take a 4-0 lead in the 3rd, then Kim won 3 straight. Kim had 2 game points on her serve at 3-4, but double-faulted both times. Justine broke Kim's serve, and then served out the match.
   
Kim still leads 9-7 in previous matches, leads Justine 7-3 on hard courts, and won the last time they met, in the Final in Filderstadt last October. Justine has won 5 of their last 7 matches, and has won in 6 of the 8 finals they have played against each other.

    Born in Bilzen, Kim now resides (for WTA players, "residing" typically occurs maybe 6 weeks a year) in Bree: she is a "Flem." Kim is 19-14 in WTA singles finals, but has not yet won a Grand Slam tourney. She recently became formally engaged to Australian former ATP # 1 Lleyton Hewitt, and even before that there were suggestions she may become an Australian (her father is less than thrilled with the Belgian tax system). Kim wears Fila, and will not play in this year's Olympics in Athens because the Belgian team has an adidas deal (she says she will be rooting for Justine, who became a natural adidas speaker last year). Kim swings a Babolat "Pure Drive." Kim's form appears flawless (though maybe not as impressive as Justine's); she also runs like hell and does the splits a whole lot. Eurosport says she is now coached by Carl Maes; the WTA website still lists Mark Dehous as her coach.

    Born in Liege, Justine now "lives" in Marloie (in the non-Flem, kinda French-like area). Justine is 16-10 in WTA singles finals; she won last year at Roland Garros and the US Open. Justine obtained her hyphen by marrying Pierre-Yves Hardenne, wears "The Mark with the 3 Stripes" (down their back this year, a fashion gaffe by the sons of Adi Dassler), and swings a Wilson "H Tour." Justine has been coached since she was 14 by Carlos Rodriguez, but taught herself the great 1-handed backhand.

The QuickSports Tennis 2004 Player Interview Videos page now links to 81 2004 Australian Open videos, of both interviews and match highlights, from both AusOpen.com and Eurosport.

    The time zone for Melbourne is GMT (UCT, ZULU) +11 hours (US Pacific Time +19, Eastern Time +16).
    US TV coverage of main draw play in Melbourne this year was on ESPN and ESPN2.
    Unfortunately, the Australian Open does not have any "netcams" (webcams) this year. They must have thought that people liked them too much. Otherwise, the usual IBM live scoring applet is excellent.

WTA SCOREBOARD: The Australian Open at Melbourne s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Australian Open photos from the WTA Photo Gallery Justine Henin-Hardenne signed autographs on Wednesday, Jan 21st Alicia Molik did likewise on Wednesday Tatiana Golovin turned 16 as she reached the 4th round Patty Schnyder on Jan 28th after reaching the SFs Fabiola Zuluaga went for a ride on Monday, Jan 26th Justine Henin-Hardenne with the big hardware on Jan 31st

Australian Open, 1st Round, Monday loser's prize: $13,878 US #1 s1 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #870 wc Olivia Lukaszewicz AUS 6-0, 6-0 Justine Henin-Hardenne     Justine said: "I don't consider myself as the biggest favorite here in this tournament, because you have many other players who can win the tournament. I just see myself like a player who's coming to give her best, and that's what I'm gonna try to do in every match." interview #4 s4 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #300 Chia-Jung Chuang TPE 6-1, 6-0 #5 s5 Lindsay Davenport USA d NR Ruxandra Dragomir Ilie ROM 6-2, 6-3 Lindsay Davenport     Lindsay said: "...my serve was not great, but I think it will get better as the tournament goes on and the more I get to serve in practice. My arm felt great, most importantly [Lindsay injured the arm in Sydney last week]." interview *#79 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #8 s7 Elena Dementieva RUS 6-1, 6-4 *#80 Aniko Kapros HUN d #12 s10 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-3, 6-3 #13 s11 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #86 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 6-3, 6-1 #18 s15 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #107 Adriana Serra Zanetti ITA 7-6(5), 6-4 Daniela Hantuchova *#137 q Mara Santangelo ITA d #19 s16 Magui Serna ESP 6(3)-7, 7-5, 6-4 *#52 Nicole Pratt AUS d #20 s17 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 Nicole Pratt     Nicole said: "I was a little disappointed that obviously I didn't close it in the second set. But Meghann lifted her game. She started to serve better, she started to return better. So, you know, I just, you know, knew the game plan I needed to try and, you know, keep to. Obviously, I raised another level in the third set, and so did Meghann. Just got through with the win in the end." interview #22 s19 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #158 q Jennifer Hopkins USA 6-1, 6-3 #24 s21 Elena Bovina RUS d #85 Sandra Kleinova CZE 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 #27 s24 Magdalena Maleeva BUL d #74 Samantha Reeves USA 6-1, 6-0 *#207 q Yuliana Fedak UKR d #29 s26 Tina Pisnik SLO 7-5, 6-0 *#54 Laura Granville USA d #35 s31 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-1, 6-3 #33 s30 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #126 q Shenay Perry USA 6-3, 6-3 #36 s32 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #49 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 6-3, 6-2 #39 Petra Mandula HUN d #93 Gala Leon Garcia ESP 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 #40 Alicia Molik AUS d #208 q Angelika Bachmann GER 6-1, 6-4     Alicia said: "...the foot's very good, thank you [Alicia had injured her foot at the Hopman Cup in Perth]. Just great to finish, you know, four, five days ago I didn't think I was going to be stepping out on the court. To go out there and play and enjoy it, finish and win, still feel good, then no complaints really. It's a really good feeling." interview *#76 Melinda Czink HUN d #42 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN 6-4, 6-3 #46 Emilie Loit FRA d #96 Marta Marrero ESP 7-5, 6-4 #54 Cara Black ZIM d #73 Els Callens BEL 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 #61 Ludmila Cervanova SVK d #297 wc Casey Dellacqua AUS 6-4, 6-4 #62 Akiko Morigami JPN d #200 q Marie-Eve Pelletier CAN 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4 Akiko Morigami #113 Jill Craybas USA d #69 Rita Grande ITA 6-2, 6-1 #70 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #110 Ansley Cargill USA 6-3, 6-4 #75 Claudine Schaul LUX d #79 Tatiana Perebiynis UKR 6-0, 6-0 #105 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA d #77 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-5, 6-4 #82 Barbara Schett AUT d #94 Clarisa Fernandez ARG 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Barbara Schett *#166 q Camille Pin FRA d #84 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-4, 6(3)-7, 6-4 *#114 Samantha Stosur AUS d #93 Silvija Talaja CRO 6-3, 6-2 *#169 q Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG d #95 Alina Jidkova RUS 6-2, 7-6(5) #136 wc Evie Dominikovic AUS d #273 wc Trudi Musgrave AUS 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 Australian Open, 1st Round, Tuesday #2 s2 Kim Clijsters BEL d #51 Marlene Weingartner GER 6-3, 6-2 Kim Clijsters #7 s6 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #101 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-2, 7-5 Anastasia Myskina #9 s8 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #181 Tatiana Panova RUS 6-4, 6-2 Ai Sugiyama #10 s9 Chanda Rubin USA d #294 Asa Svensson SWE 6-3, 4-6, 3-6 Chanda Rubin #11 s3 Venus Williams USA d #43 Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-2, 6-1 Venus Williams     Venus said: "I was real excited out there today. I really just wanted to focus on just hitting through the ball and going for my shots and when I was on the run just hitting them, hitting my returns. Really just doing all the things I always practice on. So I was pretty satisfied with the match and I played against a good player also." interview     Ashley said: "I didn't think that I played up to my potential. I was a bit nervous. It was my first time on Rod Laver [Melbourne's "center court"], my first time to play [Venus]. I wasn't sure how she was going to play, but I felt like she played really well, and I wasn't really as aggressive as I wish I could have been. I let her pretty much take over the points." interview #14 s12 Paola Suarez ARG d #125 q Gisela Dulko ARG 6-2, 6-2 *#63 Kristina Brandi PUR d #16 s13 Conchita Martinez ESP 7-6(7), 6-1 Kristina Brandi #17 s14 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR d #65 Klara Koukalova CZE 6-3, 6-3 #18 s18 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #108 Cristina Torrens Valero ESP 7-5, 6-1 #19 s20 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #90 Henrieta Nagyova SVK 6-3, 6-3 #25 s23 Lina Krasnoroutskaya RUS d #49 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-3, 6-4 #26 s22 Patty Schnyder SUI d #100 Angelique Widjaja INA 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 #27 s27 Amanda Coetzer RSA d #104 Tara Snyder USA 6-3, 6-1 #28 s29 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #68 Jelena Kostanic CRO 7-5, 6-4 #30 s25 Lisa Raymond USA d #44 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 Lisa Raymond #32 s28 Maria Sharapova RUS d #106 Conchita Martinez Granados ESP 6-4, 6-3 Maria Sharapova *#56 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #37 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-4, 6-3 #38 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #97 Dally Randriantefy MAD 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 #43 Denisa Chladkova CZE d #102 Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-4, 6-2 #47 Anca Barna GER d #119 Maureen Drake CAN 2-6, 6-0, 7-5 #48 Dinara Safina RUS d #89 Lubomira Kurhajcova SVK 6-3, 7-6(1) #55 Saori Obata JPN d #94 Myriam Casanova SUI 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 #59 Marion Bartoli FRA d #86 Alexandra Stevenson USA 6-3, 6-1 #60 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI d #211 q Libuse Prusova CZE 7-6(5), 7-5 *#142 q Barbora Strycova CZE d #66 Arantxa Parra ESP 7-5, 6-1 *#57 Amy Frazier USA d #67 Stephanie Cohen Aloro FRA 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 *#92 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #73 Milagros Sequera VEN 6-2, 6-2 *#112 Vera Douchevina RUS d #82 Jie Zheng CHN 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 #84 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #103 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-4, 6-3 *#144 q Tzipora Obziler ISR d #88 Martina Sucha SVK 6-3, 6-2 *#354 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #91 Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian SUI 6-0, 4-1 retired #114 LL Lindsay Lee-Waters USA d #549 Sophie Ferguson AUS 6-3, 6-1

Australian Open, 2nd Round, Wednesday loser's prize: $21,588 US #1 s1 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #166 q Camille Pin FRA 6-1, 6-4 Justine Henin-Hardenne     Justine said: "I'm not feeling well since two or three days, and I was feeling a little bit tired and out of energy. So maybe that's one of the reasons that in the second set I wasn't feeling great on the court. Then I lost a little bit my concentration.     "But I'm just happy, you know, to come through and win this match in two sets. And I need some rest, for sure. I think that other players have been sick a little bit and don't feel really well. So I hope I'll be better in 48 hours.     "...my stomach. Maybe a virus. I don't know yet. interview #4 s4 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #61 Ludmila Cervanova SVK 6-0, 6-2 #5 s5 Lindsay Davenport USA d #46 Emilie Loit FRA 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 Lindsay Davenport     Lindsay said: "Physically, I feel fine. I just felt like I struggled with my game out there. A little bit of maybe a lapse of concentration, a little bit of lack of footwork, you know, just played a really shaky second set." interview #13 s11 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #76 Melinda Czink HUN 7-5, 6-4 *#40 Alicia Molik AUS d #18 s15 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-4, 6-3 Alicia Molik     Daniela led 4-1 in the 1st set. Alicia said: "I thought that I let sort of Daniela more or less sort of get the lead on me. She was getting a lot of balls in. She wasn't making too many errors at that stage. I felt like I was hitting my backhand really well and really forgot that I had a forehand. Just really wasn't looking for my forehand, wasn't looking to be aggressive on it.     "In saying that as well, there was an unlucky game, too. It was 4-1, but I didn't feel like it was a convincing 4-1, if that makes sense.     "...we play each other enough to know each other's games. It was a matter of time. I was falling down a bit. I didn't hit the panic stations or anything. I knew what I had to do. I was comfortable out there."     About her foot, injured 2 weeks earlier at the Hopman Cup, Alicia said: "I'm doing as much as I can for it, getting a heap of massage, stretching a lot, icing a lot, doing all the right things, doing as much as I can for it.     "It's been feeling great. It's actually been getting a lot better." interview #22 s19 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #54 Cara Black ZIM 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 *#75 Claudine Schaul LUX d #24 s21 Elena Bovina RUS 6-4, 6-3 *#39 Petra Mandula HUN d #27 s24 Magdalena Maleeva BUL 6(6)-7, 6-2, 6-3 #33 s30 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #105 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 7-6(5), 6-4 #36 s32 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #169 q Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG 6-3, 6-4 #52 Nicole Pratt AUS d #62 Akiko Morigami JPN 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 #54 Laura Granville USA d #136 wc Evie Dominikovic AUS 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 Laura Granville #70 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #207 q Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 *#113 Jill Craybas USA d #79 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6-4, 2-6, 8-6 #80 Aniko Kapros HUN d #114 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-3, 6-1 *#137 q Mara Santangelo ITA d #82 Barbara Schett AUT 7-6(3), 0-6, 6-3 Australian Open, 2nd Round, Thursday #2 s2 Kim Clijsters BEL d #92 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-0, 6-0 Kim Clijsters     Kim said: "I felt really good out there today. I felt very sharp and, you know, I felt like I was - you know, like I said on the court, really doing with the ball whatever I wanted to do with it.     "You know, it doesn't happen every day that you can have matches like this. Especially with my foot and everything, you know, I think it's great to have short matches and recover. And I have enough time to recover for my next match." interview #7 s6 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #60 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-2, 6-4 *#55 Saori Obata JPN d #9 s8 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-4, 6-4 Saori Obata #10 s9 Chanda Rubin USA d #43 Denisa Chladkova CZE 6-2, 6-4 Chanda Rubin #11 s3 Venus Williams USA d #112 Vera Douchevina RUS 6-4, 6-2 Venus Williams     Venus said: "I had a good match. I had a few more errors than what I wanted to, but really the whole goal was just to keep hitting out. I felt that I could have pulled back, of course, and cut my errors in half. But I really wanted to go after her and play well.     "Also she hit a lot of balls back. Her second serve was quite slower than what I expected. I think it threw me off a little bit at first. I had to move up and adjust to that. So that was also different.     "But I never played her before and I think she's quite good for her age [17] also." interview #14 s12 Paola Suarez ARG d #84 Julia Vakulenko UKR 6-3, 6-4 *#354 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #17 s14 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi ISR 6-2, 6-3 *#38 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #18 s18 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-2, 6-2 #19 s20 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #56 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 #25 s23 Lina Krasnoroutskaya RUS d #142 q Barbora Strycova CZE 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 Lina Krasnoroutskaya #26 s22 Patty Schnyder SUI d #59 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 *#48 Dinara Safina RUS d #27 s27 Amanda Coetzer RSA 7-5, 6-3 #28 s29 Nathalie Dechy FRA d7 #144 q Tzipora Obziler ISR 6-3, 6-0 #30 s25 Lisa Raymond USA d #4 Anca Barna GER 6-3, 6-4 #32 s28 Maria Sharapova RUS d #114 LL Lindsay Lee-Waters USA 6-1, 6-3 #57 Amy Frazier USA d #63 Kristina Brandi PUR 2-6, 6-0, 7-5

Australian Open, 3rd Round, Friday loser's prize: $35,466 US #1 s1 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #33 s30 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-2, 7-5     Justine said: "I played a good first set. I started the match pretty well. End of second set I was playing a little bit too short, especially in [Svetlana's] best shot, which was the forehand. She was in the court, she had nothing to lose, putting on me a lot of pressure. I just had to keep fighting until the end of the match. You know, when I had to, I played well in the important points.     "I'm pretty happy because she's a tough opponent. I won in two sets. Like I said, it's great to have this kind of match in the third round because I knew that, before going on court, I had to be 100 percent if I wanted to win.     "...[the] kind of matches that I got in the first two rounds, they don't help me too much, you know, to improve my game. Today I knew it could be a really tough match and I knew that she could win this match, too. So I was careful about this and I was totally focus on my game. So that's great." interview #4 s4 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #70 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-1, 6-2 #5 s5 Lindsay Davenport USA d #54 Laura Granville USA 6-4, 6-0 Lindsay Davenport #13 s11 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #52 Nicole Pratt AUS 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 *#137 q Mara Santangelo ITA d #22 s19 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 #36 s32 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #113 Jill Craybas USA 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-2 Fabiola Zuluaga *#80 Aniko Kapros HUN d #39 Petra Mandula HUN 3-6, 6-3, 12-10 Aniko Kapros #40 Alicia Molik AUS d #75 Claudine Schaul LUX 6(4)-7, 6-1, 6-2 Australian Open, 3rd Round, Saturday #2 s2 Kim Clijsters BEL d #48 Dinara Safina RUS 6-2, 6-1     Kim said: "I know my next round will be tough. That's what I'm focusing on. Anything can happen... I've never been the kind of player who before the tournament is going to look and know who's lost. Of course I know that [Venus] lost. But for me, personally, that's not going to change anything, the way I'm going to prepare for my next round and my next opponent." interview #7 s6 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #32 s28 Maria Sharapova RUS 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 #10 s9 Chanda Rubin USA d #38 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-3, 6-2 *#30 s25 Lisa Raymond USA d #11 s3 Venus Williams USA 6-4, 7-6(5)     Lisa said: "I served pretty well when I needed to. My forehand was probably the best I've ever hit it. So, you know, I knew that my slice would bother [Venus] a little bit to her forehand. I knew I had the game to push her and to win, so, again, it was just a matter of believing that I could do it." interview     Venus said: "I think [Lisa] played really well. You know, she hung in there and played a lot of good shots and was really determined. And she's a really, really good player, really talented, and she has everything: good serve, good return, good groundstrokes, good volleys, good movement." interview *#26 s22 Patty Schnyder SUI d #14 s12 Paola Suarez ARG 7-5, 6-3 #19 s20 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #57 Amy Frazier USA 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 *#354 wc Tatiana Golovin FRA d #25 s23 Lina Krasnoroutskaya RUS 6-2, 7-6(4)     Tatiana said: "I was just really happy having the wildcard. We [Tatiana, Amelie Mauresmo & Nathalie Dechy] worked really hard all winter. My goal was to pass a few matches, get a few points. I just started to play really well. I'm feeling confident now. I'm just hoping to have a good match on Monday." interview #28 s29 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #55 Saori Obata JPN 7-5, 6-1

Australian Open, 4th Round, Sunday loser's prize: $57,825 US #1 s1 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #137 q Mara Santangelo ITA 6-1, 7-6(5) #4 s4 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #40 Alicia Molik AUS 7-5, 7-5 #5 s5 Lindsay Davenport USA d #13 s11 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-1, 6-3 Lindsay Davenport #36 s32 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #80 Aniko Kapros HUN 6-4, 6-2 Fabiola Zuluaga Australian Open, 4th Round, Monday #2 s2 Kim Clijsters BEL d #19 s20 Silvia Farina Elia ITA 6-3, 6-3 Kim Clijsters     About her upcoming QF match, Kim said: "[Anastasia is] obviously playing really well. I mean, she hits the ball really flat and she moves really well. That's something that you have to be very consistent, make sure that you don't make too many easy unforced errors. You know, probably one of her weaknesses still is probably her second serve. So that's definitely something that I'll have to attack and make sure that I can get into an advantage situation a little bit from the start of the rallies."     "...when you start the match, you have to focus [on what your opponent] can be like at her best. That's where you have to start. If she's not, then you just work around that on the court." interview #7 s6 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #10 s9 Chanda Rubin USA 6(3)-7, 6-2, 6-2 Anastasia Myskina     Anastasia said: "...with Chanda, I knew that I have to put pressure her a lot, because otherwise if you give her a finger, she's going to take a whole hand. I tried to put pressure a lot. And even that I knew that I'm going to miss couple shots, I still played really well today and I knew I'm going to win if I play that way."     About her upcoming QF match, Anastasia said: "Against Kim, you just have to do your best. Not 100%, I have to give like 300%. If you're able to give this percentage, you can beat her... She's really fast, she's really strong, and she's not going to give you any ball, easy ball, so you have to fight for every point, and you have to make a winner, and you have to make a point." interview #30 s25 Lisa Raymond USA d #354 Tatiana Golovin FRA 6-2, 6-0 #26 s22 Patty Schnyder SUI d #28 s29 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-2, 6-4     Patty said: "...the beginning was very tough. [Nathalie] has a solid game. She had a good rhythm coming into the match, and I really knew that I have to mix up the shots like the most I can. I really brought the slices in, which I really don't do a lot of times. And [inaudible] the high balls and make her come into the net so I can hit passing shots. Yeah, I mean, I had to really think every shot what I was going to do. interview

Australian Open, QFs, Tuesday loser's prize: $115,650 US #1 s1 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #5 s5 Lindsay Davenport USA 7-5, 6-3 career matches: Davenport leads 5-2 Justine Henin-Hardenne     Lindsay was up 4-0 in the 1st set, but Justine closed to trail 5-3 before Lindsay had 3 set points which she failed to convert. Justine had 22 unforced errors to Lindsay's 33, and hit 29 winners to Lindsay's 23, but won only 3 more points for the match (72-69). Less than 5' 6" and under 130 lbs., Justine's fastest serve was 111 mph, and she averaged 104 MPH on 1st serve (6' 2½" 175-lb. Lindsay: 107 and 99). match statistics     Justine said: "...when I broke [Lindsay] to come to 4-1, I understood that if I kept fighting on every point, I was feeling that the match could turn at this point. And I kept my serve, you know, going to 4-2. I was feeling better and better. She started the match unbelievable. She was playing great, hitting the ball very hard, going for a lot of winners. And she was serving well. I wasn't ready for that. I was very surprised about the way she was playing at the beginning, and I needed a couple games, you know, to be in the good rhythm." interview     About her 3 lost set points, Lindsay said: "...I decided I wanted to go for them. You know, I really wanted to keep, you know, going for my shots. One return I had the wrong grip. I thought I was going to get a forehand. Next one [Justine] hit a great first serve. Then, you know, the last one, I ended up getting kind of a shorter forehand and just overhit it. I mean, you know, it's tough. I wanted to play where I was going for it on those points, and just didn't happen today. I mean, I don't really have any regrets. Like I don't feel like a couple points, 'Oh, I should have done this.' I feel like maybe, you know, just went for a little bit too much." interview #36 s32 Fabiola Zuluaga COL d #4 s4 Amelie Mauresmo FRA walkover-- torn back muscles career matches: Mauresmo leads 5-1     Ouch: The other QF scheduled for Tuesday was scratched when # 4 s4 Amelie Mauresmo of France withdrew due to torn back muscles sustained during her 4th-round win against Alicia Molik. Australian Open, QFs, Wednesday #2 s2 Kim Clijsters BEL d #7 s6 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-2, 7-6(9) career matches: Clijsters leads 4-3 Kim Clijsters     This match was statistically unimpressive: Kim hit only 18 winners, but Anastasia hit only 16. Kim also had 45 unforced errors (including 9 double faults), but Anastasia outdid her with 47. Kim's fastest serve was 108 mph, and she averaged 94 MPH on 1st serve (Anastasia: 105 and 95). Kim made good on 12 of 16 net approaches, while Anastasia scored on only 1 of 6 trips up front. Kim converted 5 of 11 break points; Anastasia only 3 of 9. match statistics     Kim reinjured her ankle which she had hurt at the Hopman Cup in Perth. Kim said: "It happened I think in the beginning of the second set, I think 2-Love or something, yeah. And, you know, sort of felt it a little bit again, and flared up a little bit... try to ice it as much as I can today and, you know, maybe take a few painkillers [tablets] tomorrow, you know, [and some antinflammatories] to keep the swelling down."     About Thursday's SF, Kim said: "[Left-handers are] always a bit tricky... especially Patty, she's so talented. You know, she really uses the angles. She likes to use all the corners of the court. I just have to, you know, when I go out there tomorrow, just make sure that I hit the ball aggressive enough so I don't let her play her own game and that she doesn't get the chance or that she doesn't get time enough to, you know, use those angles. So I think that's the most important thing, is just make sure that I keep the pressure on her." interview #26 s22 Patty Schnyder SUI d #30 s25 Lisa Raymond USA 7-6(2), 6-3 career matches: Schnyder leads 5-0 Patty Schnyder     Although Patty hit just 17 winners to Lisa's 24, she had only 22 unforced errors to Lisa's 44. Patty also won 66% of her 2nd serve points; Lisa only 38%. Patty's fastest serve was 108 mph, and she averaged 92 MPH on 1st serve (Lisa: 103 and 97). Patty converted 4 of 7 break points; Lisa only 2 of 9. match statistics     Patty said: "I'm so happy to be here and to play semis. I just - it's hard to describe... I had a good draw. That's obvious. But still, you really have to beat, you know, all the players also between like 14 and 30. It's really tough to come out every day and play a hundred percent, which you have to, otherwise you lose." interview

Australian Open, SFs, Thursday loser's prize: $231,120 US #1 s1 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #36 s32 Fabiola Zuluaga COL 6-2, 6-2 career matches: Henin-Hardenne leads 2-0 Justine Henin-Hardenne     Justine hit 23 winners to Fabiola's 11, and won 69% of her 1st serve points to Fabiola's only 50%. Justine's fastest serve was 110 mph, and she averaged 103 MPH on 1st serve and 86 mph on 2nd serve. Fabiola nailed one serve at 111 mph, but averaged 95 on 1st and just 74 on 2nd serve. Justine scored on 10 of 19 net approaches; Fabiola, 6 of 17. Justine converted 5 of 10 break points; Fabiola only 1 of 4. match statistics     Justine said: "I think I played a really good match because Fabiola was playing a very good level, and she played really well. I started the match very good, so it helped me. It give me a lot of confidence. And I knew it could be a tough match. Even if the score is 6-2, 6-2, it was good fight on very important points. I think I was really focused on what I had to do. I stayed very calm when the situation wasn't that easy. So, no, I'm very happy. The situation is not easy, you know, playing an outsider in the semifinal. And, like I said, Fabiola is very talented, and she played very good match." interview     Fabiola said: "I feel great. The first three games I was like really nervous. But then I was just having fun. I really enjoy playing against Justine in that big stadium. I really had fun out there. Feels good. I didn't win, but I had fun [smiling].     "...backhand down the line is [Justine's] best shot, I think. And she serve pretty good. And she's always fighting. She never give up. She's running for every ball, and she's always there." interview #2 s2 Kim Clijsters BEL d #26 s22 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-2, 7-6(2) career matches: Clijsters leads 4-1 Kim Clijsters Kim put on a better show statistically than she had in the QFs, with less than half as many double faults (4) and 25% fewer unforced errors (34). Kim's fastest serve was 108 mph, and she averaged 95 mph on 1st serve (Patty: 107 and 91; Patty's 2nd serves averaged only 76 mph to Kim's 87). Kim made good on 17 of 23 net approaches, while Patty scored on 10 of 15 trips up front. Kim converted all 4 of her break points; Patty only 2 of 5. match statistics Asked if her injured ankle bothered her in the SF, Kim said: "No, I felt comfortable. I knew yesterday that it was gonna be a little bit, you know, sore, you know, going for it. But doctors have reassured me that I'm not going to make it any worse by playing... The swelling can get worse and I'll get pain. I'll just have to get through that pain while I'm playing... maybe eventually I'll have to have some surgery and have that little piece of bone taken out... if it comes back and if it keeps coming back, then I probably don't have another choice. But I'll definitely try to go without the surgery." interview Patty said: "...it was a very close second set... I didn't have set points but I was really close... I could have won that set for sure and you never know what's gonna happen in the third. So I'm a little disappointed. I think [Kim] played unbelievable good match. How she came off and started the match, it was really impressive... I don't see much of an injury when she's running." interview

Australian Open, Final, Saturday loser's prize: $462,240 US winner's prize: $924,480 US #1 s1 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL d #2 s2 Kim Clijsters BEL 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 career matches: Clijsters leads 9-7     Justine made only 49% of her 1st serves good, to Kim's 66%. This may have been because Justine was serving a tad bit faster than in the SFs: Justine's fastest serve was 112 mph, and she averaged 104 MPH on 1st serve and 88 mph on 2nd serve. Justine won the point on 31 of her 38 good 1st serves, 82%. Kim's fastest serve was just 103 mph, and she averaged 95 on 1st and 86 on 2nd serve. Kim won the point on 37 of her 60 good 1st serves, 62%. Justine served 77 times, and won 91 points. Kim served 91 times, and won 77 points. Justine scored on 14 of 18 net approaches; Kim also scored on 14 net approaches, but she made 28 trips up front. Justine hit 30 winners to Kim's 12, and Justine converted 6 of 8 break points; Kim 4 of 6. match statistics Kim Clijsters     Kim said: "I definitely felt like today I played a lot better than I did in the previous finals that I played against [Justine]. You know, I fought it really well to get back in that second set. Even in the beginning of the third set, I mean, she hardly missed any balls. She makes you go for so many shots which are not natural, I think, for a lot of players. She keeps bringing them back. You try to go closer to the lines and then you miss a few. But that's, I think, where she probably made the biggest difference today. She brought so many balls back that made me go a little bit out of my comfort zone." interview Justine Henin-Hardenne     Justine said: "That's been a very emotional match in every way because I was leading, I was playing well, and then always on the important moments Kim played well. I was feeling under pressure all the time, and the crowd gave her a lot of support, which I understand perfectly. But it's not been an easy one. I'm feeling very, very happy right now." interview

Australian Open, Doubles Final, Friday loser's prize: $169,256 US winner's prize: $338,512 US s1 Paola Suarez & Virginia Ruano Pascual d s4 Svetlana Kuznetsova & Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 6-3 Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suarez     Paola and Virginia won their 1 WTA doubles title together in 1998; 27-year-old Paola has won 31 WTA doubles titles (and 4 singles), while 30-year-old Virginia has won 24 WTA doubles titles (and 3 singles). They have won 4 Grand Slam doubles titles together, and Virginia also won the mixed doubles title at Roland Garros in 2001.     Paola said: "...we have really good feeling between us, you know. Like our coordination, it's really good, you know. We know each other from a long time. On the court, that's helped a lot for us. interview Australian Open, Mixed Doubles Final, Sunday loser's prize: $50,163 US winner's prize: $100,326 US Elena Bovina & Nenad Zimonjic d s4 Martina Navratilova & Leander Paes 6-1, 7-6(3) Elena Bovina & Nenad Zimonjic     It was 20-year-old Elena's 1st Grand Slam title; she now has 2 WTA singles, 5 WTA doubles, and 1 mixed doubles tourney titles. 47-year-old Martina is now talking of retirement after this season; she has won 58 Grand Slam titles, 167 WTA singles tourney titles and 173 doubles titles.     Elena said: "It's just great to get a [Grand Slam] trophy. Doesn't matter if it's singles, doubles, mixed doubles... just fantastic for me." interview Australian Open, Withdrawals #4 s4 Amelie Mauresmo FRA torn back muscles #111 Teryn Ashley USA

from Hard Courts by John Feinstein (pages 47-50):     Because of the travel involved, the Australian had always been number four on the Grand Slam ladder. But it had been a solid number four. In 1974 Jimmy Connors won his first Grand Slam Title there. That same year, Evonne Goolagong beat Chris Evert in the women's final. A year later, the finals were Newcombe over Connors, and Goolagong over Martina Navratilova.     But it was getting tougher and tougher to get the players to make the trip to Australia around the Christmas holidays, which was when the tournament was held. Guarantees were beginning to push player income so high that the top players saw no reason to make the trip. Bjorn Borg never played the Australian after 1974. Connors hasn't been back since 1975. Evert didn't go for six straight years after her loss to Goolagong, and Navratilova skipped four years after her loss to Goolagong.     The tournament deteriorated quickly. Kooyong, the venerable Melbourne tennis club where the tournament was held, was a badly outdated facility. It was overcrowded and the grass was not in good shape. In fact, many players complained that on one side of center court you were actually running uphill to get to the net.     In 1978 Chris O'Neil beat Betsy Nagelsen in the women's final. The next year Barbara Jordan beat Sharon Walsh. None of these four players ever came close to a Grand Slam final again...     Philippe Chatrier, the ITF president, was extremely concerned about what he saw in Australia. He had fallen in love with the country on his first trip there as a young sportswriter in 1956. Chatrier knew that the Australian had become a Grand Slam in name only. Brian Tobin, the president of Tennis Australia, knew that, too.     ...The women had upgraded their half of the tournament in the early eighties by splitting from the men. Chatrier and Tobin together convinced the Men's Tennis Council [the MTC, which controlled men's pro tennis before the ATP] to move the tournament to the last week in November. That helped a little. Then came the matter of talking the women into going back to the old two-week format.     "The women weren't too keen on that," Tobin said. "By 1980 the top women like Chrissie and Martina were coming here again and they were doing quite well on their own. But we knew to be a true Grand Slam again, we had to be a two-week tournament."     There were still major problems. Not only was Kooyong an awful facility for a major championship, it was costing Tennis Australia $1 million a year to rent. A new facility was desperately needed, but that would cost, according to estimates, $40 million. Tennis Australia just didn't have that kind of money.     ...Sitting at his desk one morning, Tobin saw a small story in the paper, which noted that the government of Victoria--the state in which Melbourne is located--was looking for a site to build a new entertainment center. Tobin called John Cain, the premier of Victoria, and asked for a meeting. Perhaps there was some way for the government and Tennis Australia to build a facility together.     Cain was interested but there was an obvious problem. Grand Slam tennis tournaments were played outdoors; most entertainment events were staged indoors. It was Cain who came up with the solution. "Why not build it with a roof that opens?" he suggested.     The rest, as they say, is history.     The land chosen to build the National Tennis Center was Flinders Park... only five minutes from the heart of Melbourne... ground was broken early in 1986. (The projected cost... was about $70 million. Before it was done, the cost was more than $100 million.)     ...They studied the other three Grand Slam facilities to try to figure out how to build the best possible venue... "We studied the U.S. Open site in order to see what not to do," Tobin said, laughing. They also proposed another date change to the MTC, asking that the tournament be moved to mid-January...     The MTC approved the calendar change. The last Australian Open at Kooyong was played in January 1987, and when the tennis world arrived in Melbourne the following January, it was clear that the Australian had arrived as a Grand Slam. The stadium seated fifteen thousand, with excellent sight lines everywhere. Most of the seats were in the shade, which helped even on the days when the heat was most unbearable. The women's final that year was completed with the roof closed, when it started to rain after the match had begun. The locker rooms were the roomiest in the world. The walkways were wide, and there were two ministadiums that served as courts 1 and 2. Chatrier called it "the tennis stadium of the twenty-first century."     With the new dates, everyone came to play. Steffi Graf started her Grand Slam by beating Chris Evert in the women's final... In 1990, Channel 7 would be on the air for about 120 hours during the two-week tournament.     Most of the country would be watching most of the time.

    (Jan 14) #15 Jelena Dokic has withdrawn from next week's Australian Open in Melbourne. Jelena said: "I'm really disappointed not to be able to make the trip down to Melbourne ... I was really looking forward to playing there for the first time in three years... Unfortunately my game is not where it needs to be to compete at the highest level and feel I definitely would not be able to do myself justice in such a major event, but I can assure you that I will do my best to be there next year." Jelena has withdrawn from all 3 tourneys she had entered so far this year.

    (Jan 13) As feared, 2-time champion # 6 Jennifer Capriati has withdrawn from next week's Australian Open due to a back injury sustained in late 2003. # 2 Kim Clijsters (left ankle) might not play, and Aussie # 36 Alicia Molik is also doubtful after a heel injury at the Hopman Cup in Perth. Others who will definitely not be playing in Melbourne this year include # 50 Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan, # 71 Virginie Razzano of France, and 4-time Australian Open winner Monica Seles of the US. Monica is still recovering from a left foot stress fracture very similar to the one suffered by Anna Kournikova in early 2001. Anna (chronic back injury) is not contemplating a return to WTA play until at least March. Ouch.

    (Jan 10) Eyebrow Raiser: # 11 Venus Williams will be seeded third at the 2004 Australian Open, ahead of former champions # 5 Lindsay Davenport and # 6 Jennifer Capriati. The "preferential seeding" has been granted at the recommendation of the WTA. If # 2 Kim Clijsters (ankle injury) cannot play, Venus would then become the 2nd seed.

    (Jan 10, 2004) As expected, # 3 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the 2004 Australian Open. Serena said: "After conferring with my trainers and coaches, we really don't think that I've had sufficient time to prepare and train for it. My knee feels great, but my rehabilitation took a little longer than I expected. I'm on the courts daily, and look forward to coming back in championship form." Serena had knee surgery to repair a partially torn tendon in mid-October, 2003. She had won 5 of the 6 Grand Slam tourneys prior to the injury.

    (Oct 1, 2003) The Australian Open is likely to be played one week later in 2006, and could begin as late as March in 2007.
    note: In 2005 Tennis Australia decided against these changes.

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