Aussie Open Women’s Action: Hot, Hot, Hot

The women’s seeds enjoyed a strong Day Three at the Australian Open. 2006 AO champion and number two seed Amelie Mauresmo advanced to the third round of play with no trouble as did Svetlana Kuznetsova (third seed), Kim Clijsters (fourth seed), Nadia Petrova (fifth seed), and Martina Hingis (sixth seed). In fact, Kim and Martina are having such an easy time of making short work of their opponents, they have a running joke to see who gets back to the locker room first after a match. If both survive their third and fourth rounds, they’ll actually meet up in the quarterfinals. Oddly, Hingis lost to Clijsters in last year’s Australian Open quarterfinals. 2003 and 2005 AO victor Serena Williams, though unseeded, also advanced to the third round.

Kuznetsova became the first female player to make the third round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Monique Adamczak; she will face Maria Kirilenko next. Mauresmo took just over an hour to beat Russian Olga Poutchkova (6-2, 6-2) and will play Czech Eva Birnerova in the third round. Clijsters dominated Japan’s Akiko Morigami 6-3, 6-0 and takes on Ukraine’s Alona Bondarenko next. Hingis crushed Russian Alla Kudryavtseva 6-2, 6-2 and will go up against Aiko Nakamura of Japan. Apparently her engagement to Czech player Radek Stepanek last month has inspired her. Williams had to work hard in the opening set versus Anne Kremer of Luxembourg before winning in the second set. (7-6(4), 6-2). Williams’ next challenge is number five seed Russian Nadia Petrova who beat Argentinean Gisela Dulko in two sets in the second round (6-1, 6-2). Number eleven seed Serbian Jelena Jankovic defeated Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual (6-2, 6-2).

Top-seeded Sharapova is back in action tomorrow against her countrywoman Anastassia Rodionova, will she make it to Round Three? We shall see.