WTA Jan 15-28: Melbourne-- Australian Open Australian Open, Melbourne, AUS Grand Slam website map 128 players - outdoor: hard Rebound Ace $15,527,900 US, 50%/50% WTA/ATP IBM Real-Time Scoreboard - event statistics matches: Current - completed - order of play qualifying draws: women's - men's singles draws: women's - men's doubles draws: women's - men's - mixed pics: Yahoo! news - tourney - WTA AusOpen radio live: on AO player - on WMP Radio Australia live: on Real - on WMP Eurosport TV live: audio only post-match interviews 2007 WTA video & audio interviews US TV is on ESPN2 - Australia news Melbourne: weather radar - forecast     venue - city map - local transit # 2 Maria Sharapova, # 3 Amelie Mauresmo # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, # 5 Kim Clijsters

Aussie Open tourney pages: 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Melbourne: #94 Serena Williams 5' 9", 135 lbs, RH 2H-BH Melbourne: 3rd Australian Open Title 8th Grand Slam Singles Title

Eurosport: S Williams d M Sharapova Complete Match Video 1 hr, 24 min

Early round play in  Melbourne begins at  11am local time. Melbourne Park-Olympic Park - click for sat pic Latitude: -37.821497 Longitude: 144.978772 goto link for World Wind click pic for venue guide - venue maps     The Australian Open has 32 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 12 qualifiers and 8 wild cards in the main draw.     Melbourne (daylight savings) time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) +11 hours (Pacific Time+19, often=the next day, 5 hours earlier; ET+16). Early round play begins at 11am local time; the final is at 1:30pm on Saturday. Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

The Odds Have It: On Saturday in Melbourne, in the final of the Australian Open, the 2003 & 2005 champ, 25-year-old # 94 Serena Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, also won the 2007 title, defeating 19-year-old # 2 Maria Sharapova of Russia (residence: Bradenton, Florida, USA), 6-1, 6-2 (photos shown).     8-time Grand Slam tourney singles champion Serena has now won 27 WTA singles titles in all. Serena was ranked # 1 in August, 2003, when she had surgery in Los Angeles to repair a partial tear in the mid-portion of the quadriceps tendon of her left knee. She recovered to reach the 2004 Wimbledon final and win the 2005 Australian Open, but the knee and her left ankle have given her trouble ever since. Serena played in only 4 tourneys in 2006, compiling a 12-4 record.     Former # 1 Serena is actually # 81 in the current rankings, but the rankings for the week preceding the tourney are used for determining seeds, and those previous week's ranks are used on these pages so the results will match the drawsheets. In Monday's rankings, Serena will be back in the top-20.     Maria, who scored on 21 of 27 net appoaches in her semifinal against Kim Clijsters, made only 6 trips to the net against Serena, and scored 5 of the 35 points she won in the match at net. Serena hit 28 winners with only 11 unforced errors (Maria: 12 winners, 13 errors). Maria made only 51% of her 1st serves good, and her winning percentage on 2nd serves was a dismal 26%. match stats     Alias Smith & Wesson: Serena said it was her blasting from the baseline style that won the match. Serena said: "My plan was just to play my game. And that's my game. I finally played it for the first time this whole tournament. That's the way I play. When I'm staying close to the baseline, I'm playing that way, aggressive. That's the way I was raised. My mom and dad taught me to play that game of tennis. For some reason, I stay on the baseline. But that was Serena that I've been trying to showcase for years and years...     "Like I said from the beginning, when I'm playing well, it's difficult for anyone to beat me... because I have a unique style. I have a unique game. You know, tennis is what I think I was born to do...     "I think [Maria] did a good job. She never gave up. Down to the last point, she was fighting." postmatch interview - Eurosport interview video     Maria said it was not only Serena's .357 magnum force; she also lost because she had a bad day serving and returning serve. Maria said: "I think it started in the second game when I'm up 40-15, and I gave her that game. From then on, when she's serving pretty big and pretty consistent, it was tough to break her. I think that was a key game in the first set...     "[Serena] played some good tennis. We don't really have a lot of long rallies. It was just about a good serve percentage, which I definitely did not have, which I said was going to be important, and the return... She was aggressive from all her shots. I don't think she really wanted to get into long rallies. She was going for it, you know, making most of it...     "I was just trying to find a way or a little door opening that maybe I could get through. Just try to get in the rallies a little bit, which was difficult because we didn't really have enough of long rallies for me to really like try to grind it out or fight it out. So it was just really a matter of serving well and returning well. And I didn't think that I did either well." postmatch interview - Eurosport interview video     On Friday, at her pre-final interview, Serena said: "I think if I play well, if I play my game, do what I can do, it's hard for anyone to beat me. I got to make sure I'm playing well. Sometimes I have a tendency to shank a few balls, to miss-hit, not be on. If I'm on, it's tough...     "Maria's playing really well. I thought she played excellent yesterday. That's how you have to do. Champs always pick it up in the last two rounds. She's shown she was able to do that. We have to see." pre-final interview     On Friday, at her pre-final interview, Maria said: "I think I'll have to serve well, obviously, against her. She has a big serve. That's one of her biggest weapons. High percentage of first serve. Not letting her get a look at too many second serves.

    "I know I say this all the time, but it's also about chances. Taking the chances when you have them, especially against an experienced player like her. If you let too many get away, the more you're going let the match slip away." pre-final interview

    2004 Wimbledon and 2006 US Open champion Maria Sharapova is now 15-5 in WTA singles finals, including defeating Serena in the 2004 Wimbledon final, 6-1, 6-4. Maria had a very strong finish in 2006, winning one Grand Slam, two Tier Is, and one Tier II title between August and October. She also won the Tier I Indian Wells tourney earlier in the year. Despite losing the final, Maria already has earned the points to be # 1 in the world when the WTA rankings are released on Monday.

    Serena now leads Maria 3-2 in career matches, but their two previous meetings were close 3-setters: Maria defeated Serena in the 2004 WTA Tour Championships final, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, and Serena defeated Maria a couple months later in the semis of the 2005 Australian Open, 2-6, 7-5, 8-6.
Serena & Venus Williams Wallpaper - ITF: Serena Williams career record - The WTA since 1996: Serena Williams record
Serena Williams Interview Transcripts - VenusSerenaFans.com

Men's Final: s1 Roger Federer SUI d s10 Fernando Gonzalez CHI 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4

pre-tourney summaries: Tracy Austin - Tennis Magazine Editors' Picks - Tignor - Wertheim

Major Skirmishes, Top Half 4th Round: # 2 s1 Maria Sharapova d # 24 s22 Vera Zvonareva # 5 s4 Kim Clijsters d # 17 s15 Daniela Hantuchova # 7 s6 Martina Hingis d # 21 Na Li *# 13 s12 Anna Chakvetadze d # 9 s8 Patty Schnyder Quarterfinals: # 2 s1 Maria Sharapova d # 13 s12 Anna Chakvetadze # 5 s4 Kim Clijsters d # 7 s6 Martina Hingis Semifinal: # 2 s1 Maria Sharapova d # 5 s4 Kim Clijsters

Major Skirmishes, Bottom Half 4th Round: *#74 Lucie Safarova d # 3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo *# 18 s16 Shahar Peer d # 4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova *# 11 s10 Nicole Vaidisova d # 8 s7 Elena Dementieva *# 95 Serena Williams d # 12 s11 Jelena Jankovic Quarterfinals: # 11 s10 Nicole Vaidisova d #74 Lucie Safarova *# 95 Serena Williams d # 18 s16 Shahar Peer Semifinal: # 95 Serena Williams d # 11 s10 Nicole Vaidisova

The 64 doubles teams, arranged in drawsheet order; teams in red have been eliminated:
TOP HALF s1 Lisa Raymond USA & Samantha Stosur AUS SF Natalie Grandin RSA & Camille Pin FRA 1st Gabriela Navratilova CZE & Hana Sromova CZE 1st Sofia Arvidsson SWE & Vladimira Uhlirova CZE 2nd Trudi Musgrave AUS & Christina Wheeler AUS 1st Na Li CHN & Shuai Peng CHN 2nd Francesca Schiavone ITA & Patty Schnyder SUI 3rd s13 Elena Likhovtseva RUS & Elena Vesnina RUS 1st s12 Maria Elena Camerin ITA & Gisela Dulko ARG 3rd Laura Granville USA & Carly Gullickson USA 1st Daniella Dominikovic AUS & Sophie Ferguson AUS 1st Jarmila Gajdosova SVK & Bryanne Stewart AUS 2nd Alona Bondarenko UKR & Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 2nd Lucie Safarova CZE & Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 1st Kaia Kanepi EST & Anna Smashnova ISR 1st s7 A-L Groenefeld GER & Meghann Shaughnessy USA QF s3 Cara Black ZIM & Liezel Huber RSA Andreea Ehritt-Vanc ROM & Anastassia Rodionova RUS 1st Emma Laine FIN & Nicole Vaidisova CZE 1st Bethanie Mattek USA & Shenay Perry USA 2nd Lauren Breadmore AUS & Emily Hewson AUS 1st Catalina Castano COL & Jill Craybas USA 2nd Su-Wei Hsieh TPE & Ting Li CHN 1st s16 Eleni Daniilidou GRE & Jasmin Woehr GER 3rd s10 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP & Sania Mirza IND 3rd Sandra Kloesel GER & Aravane Rezai FRA 1st Yulia Beygelzimer UKR & Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 1st Ekaterina Bychkova RUS & Martina Muller GER 2nd Romina Oprandi ITA & Julia Schruff GER 1st Michaella Krajicek NED & Agnes Szavay HUN 2nd Tatiana Golovin FRA & Alicia Molik AUS 1st s6 Daniela Hantuchova SVK & Ai Sugiyama JPN QF		BOTTOM HALF s5 Dinara Safina RUS & Katarina Srebotnik SLO 3rd Anna Chakvetadze RUS & Mara Santangelo ITA 1st Iveta Benesova CZE & Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 1st Severine Bremond FRA & Amelie Mauresmo FRA 2nd Yuliana Fedak UKR & Tatiana Perebiynis UKR 1st Yung-Jan Chan TPE & Chia-Jung Chuang TPE Final Tathiana Garbin ITA & Roberta Vinci ITA 2nd s11 Marion Bartoli FRA & Shahar Peer ISR 1st s15 Janette Husarova SVK & Jelena Jankovic SRB 1st Martina Hingis SUI & Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 3rd Lucie Hradecka CZE & Renata Voracova CZE 1st Vera Dushevina RUS & Maria Kirilenko RUS 3rd Ashley Harkleroad USA & Galina Voskoboeva RUS QF Milagros Sequera VEN & Meilen Tu USA 1st Emilie Loit FRA & Nicole Pratt AUS 2nd s4 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP & Paola Suarez ARG 1st s8 Nathalie Dechy FRA & Vera Zvonareva RUS 3rd Varvara Lepchenko UZB & Olga Poutchkova RUS 1st Vania King USA & Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO 2nd Marta Domachowska POL & A Radwanska POL 1st Stephanie Foretz FRA & Klaudia Jans POL 1st Shengnan Sun CHN & Tiantian Sun CHN QF Elena Bovina RUS & Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 2nd s9 Corina Morariu USA & Rennae Stubbs AUS 1st s14 Elena Dementieva RUS & Flavia Pennetta ITA 3rd Akiko Morigami JPN & Aiko Nakamura JPN 1st Sybille Bammer AUT & Eva Birnerova CZE 1st Tsvetana Pironkova BUL & Martina Sucha SVK 2nd Casey Dellacqua AUS & Jessica Moore AUS 1st Vasilisa Bardina RUS & Alicja Rosolska POL 2nd Monique Adamczak AUS & Evie Dominikovic AUS 1st s2 Zi Yan CHN & Jie Zheng CHN SF

    The prize money page on the ausopen.org website disappeared in 2005. The continuing fall of the US dollar has resulted in a substantial loss of income for tourneys outside the US, because TV and sponsorship contracts pay the tourneys in US dollars. In 2005, Aussie Open profits were said to have dropped about 25% in recent years due to the falling dollar.
    The prize money amounts listed in the results table below were obtained from a .pdf document published at the ITF website. The conversions to US dollars are at the Jan 10, 2007 exchange rate: $1 AUS = $.7763 US.

Doubles prize money, per team, AUS$:
Champions $446,020; Finalists $223,010; SFs $110,800; QFs $55,400; 3rd Round $31,245; 2nd Round $17,035; 1st Round $9,585

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"? On Saturday, January 13, in Melbourne, 1997, '98 & '99 Australian Open (& '97 Wimbledon & US Open) champ Martina Hingis, and top seeded 2004 Wimbledon & 2006 US Open champ Maria Sharapova swatted cheeseballs on the Laver court and made faces at the media. On Sunday, January 14, in Melbourne, Maria, again in Rod Laver Arena, got serious about how many matches she would play at a time, while her possible SF opponent Kim Clijsters told the press about the wonderful Belgian chocolate recipes she can try after retiring and marrying later this year. Nadia Petrova and 2006 Aussie Open champ Amelie Mauresmo were also among the many players practicing on Sunday; unfortunately practice photos of other ladies never made it to the Internet. Anna Chakvetadze was having a ball on Tue, Jan 23, the day before her first Grand Slam quarterfinal... Among the ladies looking good on Sun, Jan 21, at the player party were Tsvetana Pironkova, Mara Santangelo, Elena Vesnina, and Patty Schnyder.

Australian Open, 1st Rd, Mon-Tue 11am loser: $19,215 AUS = $14,919 US, 2 points On Tuesday, invocation of the Extreme Heat Policy resuted in 12 ladies singles matches being postponed to Wednesday #2 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #61 Camille Pin FRA 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 Tue Maria serving, Camille after winning a point, Maria with ice-filled towels wrapped around her during a changeover, Maria's forehand, and both players after match point     On Tuesday, after about 1½ hours of play, as temps rose over 100°F, the Extreme Heat Policy was invoked, clearing outside courts after current matches were complete, and closing the roofs of the two main stadiums. In Rod Laver Arena, the roof was not closed until the first match of the day, Sharapova v Pin, was finished-- and it took almost three hours.     Maria said: "It was really tough. You know, it was hard to think about what you were going to do on court because you were just mentally trying to find a way to kind of make the points shorter and basically trying to find a way to win. But sometimes when it's that hot outside, your mind doesn't work properly." tourney story     Camille said: "Right now actually I feel very disappointed. But now that I've been around, I've been half an hour at the restaurant, and I can see people saying, 'Well, you did great today', so I feel a bit better now...     "But I was so close that I thought it was my day, but apparently it was not, so next time. I was really sad to miss it, but [Maria is] No.2 in the world, and she's succeeded to do what she had to do on this game." #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #45 Shenay Perry USA 6-3, 6-4 Mon Amelie and Tracy Austin on the Talking Tennis TV show on Jan 13 #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #917 wc Jessica Moore AUS 6-2, 6-0 Mon Sveta after match point #5 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #70 Vasilisa Bardina RUS 6-0, 6-0 Tue Vasilisa's backhand drive, Kim running down a forehand, and Vasilisa congratulating Kim after the match     Kim said: "I felt lucky I was able to play on that court with the roof closed, and get to play as well, otherwise it can be a very long day here. I felt very lucky to be out here and play. I was just happy to get it over with.     [I] felt very into the zone today. I was seeing the ball well. Only the serve, the first serve percentage, has to be a little higher if I start playing girls who return better, who don't miss as much as my opponent today. Overall, it was pretty good." postmatch interview #6 s5 Nadia Petrova RUS d #71 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 6-3, 6-2 Mon Nadia spinning a forehand #7 s6 Martina Hingis SUI d #49 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-0, 6-2 Tue Martina firing a forehand, Nathalie fielding a drop shot, and after match point     Martina said: "I played very well... I was very nervous. So was she. But I started to loosen up and play some really good tennis, very focused, very intense.     "I knew it's not going to be easy against Nathalie first round. It's a little bit similar than when I played Vera last year. You had to be ready first match." postmatch interview - match stats #8 s7 Elena Dementieva RUS d #111 Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-1, 6-2 Mon Elena's forehand drive, and after match point #9 s8 Patty Schnyder SUI d #497 wc Madison Brengle USA 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Wed Patty and Madison driving backhands #10 s9 Dinara Safina RUS d #78 Ekaterina Bychkova RUS 7-6(5), 6-1 ppd-Wed Dinara's backhand volley, and Ekaterina following a forehand #11 s10 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #58 Jill Craybas USA 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 Mon Three views of Nicole serving, and Jill and Nicole launching backhands #12 s11 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #92 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 6-3, 6-3 Mon Aleksandra's forehand, Jelena's backhand, after match point, and Jelena on Tuesday, providing a photo-op at Port Melbourne #13 s12 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #56 Sybille Bammer AUT 6-4, 7-5 Tue #14 s13 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #57 Vania King USA 6-2, 6-0 Tue Ana serving, Vania reaching for a forehand, Ana following a forehand, and after match point #15 s14 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #95 Sandra Kloesel GER 6-4, 6-4 Mon Francesca serving, Sandra's backhand, and Francesca after winning a point #17 s15 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #195 q Alize Cornet FRA 6-4, 6-1 ppd-Wed Daniela serving, and Alize waiting to swat a backhand #18 s16 Shahar Peer ISR d #52 Romina Oprandi ITA 6-1, 6-3 Mon #19 s17 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER d #156 q Sandra Zahlavova CZE 6-4, 6-1 ppd-Wed Anna-Lena's backhand #20 s18 Marion Bartoli FRA d #101 Vera Dushevina RUS 6-0, 6-3 Mon #21 s19 Na Li CHN d #1431 sr14  Elena Bovina RUS 6-4, 6-3 ppd-Wed Elena's forehand drive, and Na following one #22 s20 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #62 Anna Smashnova ISR 6-3, 6-1 Mon Tatiana in her service motion, Anna about to volley a backhand, Tatiana driving one, and after match point #23 s21 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #157 wc Casey Dellacqua AUS 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 Mon Katarina's backhand drive #24 s22 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #123 Tzipora Obziler ISR 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Wed #26 s23 Ai Sugiyama JPN d #60 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 6-3, 6-4 Mon Sofia's forehand drive, and Ai belting a backhand, her best shot #27 s24 Samantha Stosur AUS d #119 q Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-3, 6-1 Tue Current top-ranked Aussie Sam during pre-tourney interviews     Samantha said: "It was kind of a tricky match. At the start, I felt kind of a little all over the place. It was kind of a weird feeling. Got 3-1 down. Tried to settle down. Hit a few more balls in. I knew with the way [Klara] played she was going to hit some winners, and then hit a whole bunch of errors. That's kind of what happened. After I got back into it, I started to feel a lot more comfortable." postmatch interview *#42 Elena Vesnina RUS d #28 s25 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6(7)-7, 6-1, 6-1 Mon Elena while applying her Ivana Henryova for fans after the match #29 s26 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #89 Karolina Sprem CRO 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 Mon Maria's service toss and swing *#94 Serena Williams USA d #30 s27 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-2, 6-1 Mon Serena preparing to serve, Mara and Serena firing forehands, and Serena after match point     Mara said: "I didn't play too good. I had some problems last week. I have been sick and I didn't feel too good on court, to be honest. [But Serena] played very good today. I saw a few of her games in Hobart last week and to be honest, she didn't play like she played today. She improved a lot. Today she played very well. She served very well, she put on a lot of pressure, and was much better than she was in Hobart." tourney story     Serena said: "I can definitely win a third title, for sure My mom and dad always taught me to think positive. For me to sit here and say no now - I just can't do that. Now whether I win, lose or draw, that's you know, up to me, but I'm not going to sit here and say no. I just can't do that...     "I think there's so much I can do to improve. I actually wasn't a hundred per cent happy with the way I played... as long as I'm moving forward, figuratively and literally, I should be fine."     Two weeks ago, Serena appeared at Auckland with a new axe. All sorts of speculation has appeared in online forums about her new black bat, which definitely has a narrow beam (not a wide body) and appears to have a smaller head (100 sq. in. or less).     The most credible-sounding rumor about Serena's new Wilson racquet is that it is a prototype from their new K Factor series, which is due to begin replacing the nCode line in late January. One writer states that it is a prototype of the K Blade, a replacment for the current nBlade, that it will have a 100" sq. in. head, weigh 10.4 oz. unstrung, and will debut at Miami (Key Biscayne) in March. *#79 Kaia Kanepi EST d #31 s28 Flavia Pennetta ITA 7-5, 7-6(3) Tue #32 s29 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #160 q Stephanie Cohen-Aloro FRA 6-1, 7-6(6) Tue #33 s30 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #113 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 Tue *#91 Julia Schruff GER d #34 s31 Jie Zheng CHN 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 Mon Julia driving a forehand, Jie ready to swat one, and happy Julia leaving the court after the match *#64 Aiko Nakamura JPN d #35 s32 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-4, 6-0 Tue Aiko after match point #36 Martina Muller GER d #157 q Jorgelina Cravero ARG 6-0, 6-3 Mon *#146 q Anne Kremer LUX d #37 Michaella Krajicek NED 6-4, 6-3 Mon *#189 q Tamira Paszek AUT d #38 Severine Bremond FRA 6-1, 6-4 ppd-Wed #39 Olga Poutchkova RUS d #90 Marta Domachowska POL 6-2, 6-4 Mon *#158 q Renata Voracova CZE d #40 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 7-5, 6-3 Tue *#47 Emilie Loit FRA d #41 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 ppd-Wed Aravane driving a backhand, and Emilie firing her lefty forehand *#118 q Julia Vakulenko UKR d #44 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 Mon *#149 wc Youlia Fedossova FRA d #46 Catalina Castano COL 7-5, 6-4 ppd-Wed #50 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #104 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-2, 6-2 Mon #51 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #138 q Ahsha Rolle USA 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Wed #53 Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO d #171 wc Sophie Ferguson AUS 7-5, 6-3 Tue #54 Shuai Peng CHN d #212 q Andreja Klepac SLO 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 ppd-Wed Andreja's forehand, and Shuai driving a backhand #55 Gisela Dulko ARG d #81 Tiantian Sun CHN 6-2, 6-2 Mon #59 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #99 Varvara Lepchenko UZB 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 Tue #63 Iveta Benesova CZE d #112 Galina Voskoboeva RUS 6(3)-7, 6-1, 6-4 Mon *#86 Akiko Morigami JPN d #65 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 Tue #66 Sania Mirza IND d #103 Olga Savchuk UKR 6-3, 7-5 Tue Sania's strength, her forehand drive, and Olga's backhand     About the 100+°F temperatures that resulted in the Extreme Heat Policy being invoked, Sania said: "Bombay [Mumbai] is more humid but here you can really feel the heat and you can feel it burning your legs at the changeover... It's hot in India but not as hot as it was here today but it is a lot hotter in India than Ukraine." tourney story #67 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP d #105 Melinda Czink HUN 1-6, 6-1, 9-7 Mon #68 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR d #102 Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 Mon #69 Laura Granville USA d #110 Yulia Beygelzimer UKR 6-2, 6-3 Tue *#75 Virginie Razzano FRA d #72 Nicole Pratt AUS 6(8)-7, 6-4, 6-0 Tue *#135 q Alla Kudryavtseva RUS d #73 Emma Laine FIN 4-6, 6-2, 9-7 Tue #74 Lucie Safarova CZE d #98 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-3, 6-1 Mon *#97 Milagros Sequera VEN d #76 Jarmila Gajdosova SVK 6-3, 6-4 Mon Milagros after match point *#165 wc Alicia Molik AUS d #77 Yung-Jan Chan TPE 6-2, 7-6(4) Tue Alicia driving a forehand, and Yung-Jan studying a backhand, and Alicia after match point     Alicia said: "[I] Should have got a lot more free points off my first serve... Got me out of trouble at the right time exactly, but I don't want to have to rely on it. When push comes to shove, I like to get out front nice and early. I didn't get too many free points on my first serve, which I probably should have... I didn't have a look at my stats, but I would imagine my first serve percentage is pretty low. That's something I guess I'll work on in the next 24-hour period...     "I felt fine. I felt I was hitting my backhand really well. My topspin backhand, getting off the court really well. My slice line was effective. Dropped off a little bit in the second set...     "I didn't want to play a third set. I was disappointed I let it get to that point. Made a conscious effort to win that set. I probably should have served it out... At no point did I really panic or was I worried. I felt like I was in full control the whole match. I never felt like [Yung-Jan] was really dictating or dominating. I felt like I really controlled the match." postmatch interview *#96 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #82 Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 Mon Victoria's backhand drive *#93 Anastassia Rodionova RUS d #83 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-3 6-1 Tue *#85 Eva Birnerova CZE d #84 Martina Sucha SVK 7-5, 6-3 Mon #87 Ashley Harkleroad USA d #115 Meng Yuan CHN 6-3, 6-0 ppd-Wed Meng firing a forehand, and Ashley following one #88 Meilen Tu USA d #109 Edina Gallovits ROM 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 Mon *#108 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE d #107 Clarisa Fernandez ARG 6-4, 6-2 Mon *#246 wc Monique Adamczak AUS d #132 wc Iroda Tulyaganova UZB 6-1, 6-4 Mon

Australian Open, 2nd Rd, Wed-Thu 11am WTA Wed story - WTA Thu story 1 - WTA Thu story 2 loser: $29,890 AUS = $23,207 US, US 60 points On Thursday, rain delayed the start of play on all courts except Laver and Vodafone, which have closeable roofs #2 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #93 Anastassia Rodionova RUS 6-0, 6-3 Thu Maria's running backhand, Maria's forehand, Anastassia following a backhand, Maria following a forehand, and after match point     Maria said: "I was glad I got to a good start. I wanted to make sure I finished it in two this time. I thought that I played a little bit better today.     "I still think that I can play a lot better. I'm nowhere near my top level. But I think I can definitely get better as I play more matches here...     "It was hard to take much away from the first match because I didn't think it had a lot to do tennis-wise. Today I felt like I could work on a few things and really see how I was playing. I'll take a few things from this match and just try to improve for my next one." postmatch interview     About the recent success of Jelena Jankovic, Maria said: "I actually grew up with her playing at Bollettieri's. I've known her quite well since we were very young... she was one of the top players, top juniors. I think a lot of people expected her to be a top player.     "I think she's becoming more consistent as she's been playing more matches. Looks like a more experienced player. I haven't played her recently. She's obviously been playing great, confident tennis." #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #39 Olga Poutchkova RUS 6-2, 6-2 Wed Amelie's forehand, Olga considering whether a different stringing pattern would help, and Amelie after match point     Amelie said: "I felt it was much better than my first match; I'm really finding my rhythm a little bit more. I felt I was also moving pretty well tonight and was very serious in what I was doing. It was good." #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS v #246 wc Monique Adamczak AUS 6-2, 6-1 Wed Monique serving, Svetlana's forehand, and after match point #5 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #86 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-3, 6-0 Thu Akiko's forehand drive, Kim's trademark splits forehand, and Akiko after losing a point     Kim said: "Everything went pretty good. In the beginning, I wasn't moving quite as well as I did in my first match. But looking at the statistics and looking at [Akiko], I did everything pretty well, and I did what I had to do. I won in two pretty easy sets, so I'm not complaining." #6 s5 Nadia Petrova RUS d #55 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-1, 6-2 Wed Nadia's forehand, Gisela spinning one with her new bat, and Nadia after match point     Gisela, who formerly swung a Babolat, is equipped this year with a Technifibre T-Fight 320. Gisela is the first top-100 pro on the WTA Tour to use a Technifiber racquet. Her new bat has a 97 sq. in. head, is 27" long, weighs 11.2 oz., is balanced 10 points head light, has a 20mm beam width and a stiffness rating of 68, and is available strung 16x20 or 18x20. #7 s6 Martina Hingis SUI d #135 q Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-2, 6-2 Thu Martina's forehand, Alla volleying one, and Martina after match point     Martina said: "I'd never seen [Alla] before so it took time to adjust to how she was playing. It was a different opponent from the first day. Against Nathalie [Dechy, in the 1st round], mentally it was a different attitude; the young girls just attack. That's what you have to face today, and anybody can come out on a given day, and you have to just work against that, and try to definitely stay at the baseline." #8 s7 Elena Dementieva RUS d #36 Martina Muller GER 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 Wed Elena about to deliver a backhand, and after match point #9 s8 Patty Schnyder SUI d #54 Shuai Peng CHN 7-5, 6-3 Thu Patty's backhand drive, Shuai telling the chair ump it went thataway, and Patty departing after match point #10 s9 Dinara Safina RUS d #149 wc Youlia Fedossova FRA 6-3, 6-2 Thu Dinara while delivering a backhand #11 s10 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #97 Milagros Sequera VEN 6-2, 6-1 Wed Nicole driving: forehand and backhand #12 s11 Jelena Jankovic SRB d #67 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 6-2, 6-2 Wed Vivi icing her recently-injured knee during a changeover, and Jelena's backhand #13 s12 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #69 Laura Granville USA 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 Thu     No photos of Anna Chakvetadze or Laura Granville have been posted during the first two rounds. #14 s13 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #59 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 Thu Ana driving forehand and backhand, and after match point *#74 Lucie Safarova CZE d #15 s14 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-3, 6-3 Wed Francesca about to swat a backhand, and Lucie apparently protesting a call (only photo available) #17 s15 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #47 Emilie Loit FRA 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Thu Daniela examining a backhand, making contact, and after match point #18 s16 Shahar Peer ISR d #88 Meilen Tu USA 6-3 6-0 Wed Shahar about to slice a backhand, and Meilen's forehand drive *#87 Ashley Harkleroad USA d #19 s17 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 6-2, 6-2 Thu Ashley following a backhand, and after match point *#96 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #20 s18 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-0, 7-5 Wed #21 s19 Na Li CHN d #51 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-0, 6-2 Thu Na's backhand drive, and Lourdes fielding a drop shot #22 s20 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #108 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 6-2, 6-0 Wed Tatiana's forehand #23 s21 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #63 Iveta Benesova CZE 7-6(0), 6(6)-7, 6-1 Wed #24 s22 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #189 q Tamira Paszek AUT 6-1, 6-3 Thu Vera ready to wallop an inside fastball, and sending it on its way, and Tamira, also driving a backhand *#68 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR d #26 s23 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-2, 2-6, 10-8 Wed Anastasiya driving a backhand, Ai following one, and Anastasiya after match point *#53 Jelena Kostanic Tosic CRO d #27 s24 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-4 2-6 6-2 Thu Samantha volleying a backhand, Jelena driving a forehand, and Jelena after match point #29 s26 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #118 q Julia Vakulenko UKR 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Wed Maria's backhand drive #32 s29 Alona Bondarenko UKR d #75 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-3, 6-4 Thu Alona and Virginie driving backhands, and Alona after winning a point #33 s30 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #158 q Renata Voracova CZE 6-1, 7-5 Thu Tathiana's forehand drive, Renata's backhand drive, and Tathiana after match point *#50 Maria Elena Camerin ITA d #42 Elena Vesnina RUS 4-6, 6-3, 8-6 Wed Elena and Maria Elena driving forehand and backhand #64 Aiko Nakamura JPN d #66 Sania Mirza IND 6-3, 6-2 Thu Aiko's forehand, Sania after losing a point, and Aiko after match point *#165 wc Alicia Molik AUS d #79 Kaia Kanepi EST 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 Thu Alicia hitting balls to the crowd after match point     Alicia said: "I don't think it was just a matter of [Kaia] not letting me into the match. I think if you look at probably the first three or four games, I had a lot of opportunities, actually had two or three breaks points, had a couple of sitter forehands which I should have converted. So I feel like I really let her run away with that first set.     "And I knew things could really only get better. I actually didn't feel too bad after the first set. I knew what I need today get going, my serve, get my forehand working. Then in the end I felt like she didn't see any holes, she pressed and pressed and eventually she committed a lot more errors in the end than myself...     "She was hitting pretty big and I was tempting her into committing errors. But I felt like I moved a lot better and I didn't really have to do too much. I just tried to keep my game simple, step it up when I needed to, and fall back when I needed to.     "In the end maybe that became a little bit too much for her. She pressed and pressed and she didn't really change her game plan at all. But I felt like she was getting a little bit frustrated by my slice. I started keeping it really low. It was dropping short, as well, which she didn't like. I tried to draw her into net a bit. Probably loosened my forehand up a lot more in the second and third sets. I guess tactically they were the differences...     "I had a lot of opportunities in the first three or four games. If I had converted those, it would have been a different story. It would have been 3-love, 3-1 my way. She held the first game. I probably should have been a break up in hindsight." postmatch interview #85 Eva Birnerova CZE d #91 Julia Schruff GER 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 Wed #94 Serena Williams USA d #146 q Anne Kremer LUX 7-6(4), 6-2 Wed Serena serving, Anne's forehand, Serena's backhand, and after match point     Serena said: "I got off to a slow start in the first set and was making a tremendous amount of errors. In the second set I was making more shots, and I was playing more what I'd planned. I lost focus when I was up 4-0 in the second - I started daydreaming. I'm too experienced to daydream at that stage of a match...     "I was feeling a little rusty in Hobart; I felt a little rusty today, when I was hitting a lot of balls out, but I've got to shake it off. At this point, I have no other choice and no other option. I've got to move forward with it. I think if you want something bad enough, it's just there...     "I'm definitely excited to play [Nadia] Petrova [in the 3rd round]. She's no slouch. She has a really solid game and she's been doing nothing but moving forward and improving her ranking and style of play. She's always posed a good challenge for me - but I know her game. It's good to play someone whose game you know; that's good going into this match."

Australian Open, 3rd Rd, Fri-Sat loser: $49,100 AUS = $38,121 US, 90 points On Friday, rain delayed play on the outside courts after about 4 games had been played, but all matches were completed On Saturday, rain prevented play on the outside courts all day, and 3 ladies singles matches were postponed to Sunday #2 s1 Maria Sharapova RUS d #33 s30 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-3, 6-1 Sat Maria elevating the level of her game, Tathina's forehand, Maria's backhand, Maria after winning a point, and the most important stroke in tennis, the wavingaftermatchpointhand     Tathiana broke Maria's serve at the start of the match. Maria said: "I was a bit slow in the beginning of the match. You know, didn't really adjust from the beginning. I thought I was letting [Tathiana] play her game a little too much. But I felt like as the match went on, I moved a lot better. I saw the short balls a lot quicker, put pressure on her...     "I actually think [the Rebound Ace hardcourt surface] suits my game a little bit because the bounce comes up a little higher. It actually depends on the day. Sometimes when the conditions change, the court changes. The surface sometimes becomes stickier on some days than others. It depends on the day. Actually it feels like it suits my game. The ball bounces high. Can get a good hit on it. It's definitely not really fast, but that's not really a concern for me because I like to play on those kinds of courts." postmatch interview #3 s2 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #85 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-3, 6-1 Fri A visiting wallaby on Friday hoping to join the Tour, Amelie's forehand, Eva's backhand, and Amelie after match point     Amelie said: "I have mixed feelings about today's match. I really started not the way I wanted to, and definitely making way too many unforced errors. You know, it happens. I was able throughout the end of the first set and then the second set to really find a little bit more of my rhythm, especially on the forehand side. I'm really looking forward to doubles tomorrow and then the next singles match." postmatch interview #4 s3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #29 s26 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-1, 6-4 Fri Maria tracking a lob, Svetlana's running backhand, Maria's running forehand, and Sveta signaling TD after winning a point #5 s4 Kim Clijsters BEL d #32 s29 Alona Bondarenko UKR 6-3, 6-3 Sat Kim about to slice a backhand, Alona's forehand drive, and Kim after match point     Kim said: "[Alona is] a good player. She hits the ball very hard and very deep. I always had to be very focused. I tried not to let her get back into the match, which I think in the second set I did a little bit where I played a bad service game. Lucky, I got refocused and broke her back straightaway, so that was good... She has a good future ahead of her I think." postmatch interview *#94 Serena Williams USA d #6 s5 Nadia Petrova RUS 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 Fri Serena twisting a serve, Nadia's forehand, Serena's running backhand, Nadia thinking things over, and Serena after match point     Nadia led 6-1, 5-3, then served for the match at 6-1, 5-4.     Serena said: "I had no other option than for my game to go up. I was on the verge of being out of the tournament, and I obviously didn't want that to happen. I told myself to stay in there... and it will come together sooner or later." WTA story     Nadia said: [Serena] came up with unbelievable returns; she just went for it and she produced an unbelievable backhand winner up the line, from far behind the court...     "I must say we were both moving a lot open court, and I really couldn't spot in her body language that she was exhausted. She looked fitter to me compared to what I've heard from other players the way she was playing in Hobart...     "She had no other choice. She really had to fight for it and she had to stay mentally strong, and I'm sure she knew it. She had no other option, and she did it today...     "It's disappointing to drop out that early here in the Australian [Open] because I felt like I'm in very good shape. I had very good two cruising rounds. I've been unlucky here with the draw, but still, I had my chances." tourney story - postmatch interview #7 s6 Martina Hingis SUI d #64 Aiko Nakamura JPN 6-2, 6-1 Sat Martina's forehand, Aiko and Martina driving backhands, and both ladies after match point     Martina said: "I played pretty well, especially the last three, four games. It was just in the beginning I didn't know exactly what [Aiko was] going to play...     "I think I played some pretty good points also up at the net, tried to mix it up, did my job well... There were a few errors, a lot of unforced errors...     "[Aiko is] a little feisty player. [But] every time I needed it, I came up with just no missing, and tried to do a little bit more extra." postmatch interview #8 s7 Elena Dementieva RUS d #50 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 6-1, 6-3 Fri Elena's forehand drive, Maria Elena and Elena driving backhands, and Elena after match point #9 s8 Patty Schnyder SUI d #165 wc Alicia Molik AUS 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 Sat Patty firing a cannonball serve, Alicia's forehand, Patty reaching for a backhand, and after match point     About the 1st set, Patty said: "[Alicia] just played great. I could not really get my game going. She played tactically only on my backhand. I really had to run bigtime around to get some forehands. Of course she served really huge in that set.