Though Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis race to see who can finish the match first, neither is as fast as Maria Sharapova. Her first round match dragged on for three grueling hours in extreme heat, but yesterday Sharapova spent only 58 minutes to wallop fellow Russian Anastassia Rodionova 6-0, 6-3. “My brain cells were restored [...]
Aussie Open: Men’s Third Round
January 18, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Rafael Nadal advanced to the third round, though he seemed to struggle a bit before defeating German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in yesterday’s final match. Nadal was hit hard twice by backhands at the net during play, one shot actually sent him sprawling. Nadal claimed that he felt Kohlschreiber aimed to hit him [...]
Aussie Open Men’s Action
January 17, 2007 By 1 Comment
In men’s singles action, Roger Federer encountered little resistance from Jonas Bjorkman, cruising to a three set victory in 94 minutes (6-2, 6-3, 6-2). Federer will play Russia’s U.S. Mikhail Youzhny on Friday. Andy Roddick overtook Frenchman Marc Gicquel (6-3, 7-6, 6-4) and will play Marat Safin on Friday. Safin beat Israeli Dudi Sela to [...]
Aussie Open Women’s Action: Hot, Hot, Hot
January 17, 2007 By 1 Comment
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 [...]
Aussie Open: Men’s Update
January 16, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Number two seed Rafael Nadal, David Nalbandian, James Blake, and Lleyton Hewitt all advanced to the second round of play today. Nadal easily took down Robert Kendrick, winning in straight sets (7-6(6), 6-3, 6-2). Nalbandian battled for more than three hours in the searing heat against Serbian Janko Tipsarevic. Tipsarevic eventually had to retire due [...]
Aussie Open: Women’s Update
January 16, 2007 By 1 Comment
Top seed Maria Sharapova fought hard to reach round two of the Australian Open. Camille Pin of France proved herself a worthy opponent in the blistering heat. The score was 6-3, 4-6, 9-7. The match ran for 171 minutes, 83 of which were the third set! Sharapova commented, “It’s inhumanely possible to play three hours [...]
Australian Open Women’s Results
January 15, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Defending the crown on the ladies’ side, Amelie Mauresmo beat American Shenay Perry in her first match today (6-3, 6-4). 2005 Australian Open winner Serena Williams also advanced to the next round of play by trouncing Mara Santangelo of Italy in straight sets (6-2, 6-1). As Serena herself said, “There is only one way I [...]
Australian Open Men’s Results
January 15, 2007 By 1 Comment
Switzerland’s Roger Federer, the men’s defending champ for the Australian Open title, is looking to win his tenth Grand Slam. He won his first match today against Bjorn Phau of Germany (7-5, 6-0, 6-4). Marat Safin (Russia) overcame Benjamin Becker (German) in first round play (5-7, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4). Andy Roddick had an [...]
Heating Up Down Under
January 15, 2007 By Leave a Comment
The Australian Open kicked off today in Melbourne; top seeds are Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer. The women’s draw for the Open includes 18 Russians! Today’s action includes the longest tiebreaker in the history of the Open. Unfortunately, not all the Open news is good news. On a more somber note, Serbian and Croatian spectators [...]
Big Babe Slugfest in Sydney
January 12, 2007 By 1 Comment
The Medibank International is just finishing up in Sydney, Australia. One of our Wicked Backhand readers subscribes to The Tennis Channel and I do not, so I wanted to share with you his account of yesterday’s semifinal match between Jankovic and Vaidisova: “Wow, what a slugfest between Jankovic and Vaidisova. Jankovic was really stretched to [...]