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Australian Open Capsules: Dominant Serena into fourth round
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A look at Saturday's sixth day of the Australian Open tennis championships:
WEATHER: Mostly sunny with a high of 83 Fahrenheit.
ATTENDANCE: Day session: 52,272; Night: 28,377; TOTAL 80,649.
WINNERS: Men: No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 4 Andy Murray, No. 5 David Ferrer, No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 17 Richard Gasquet, No. 24 Kei Nishikori.
Women: No. 2 Petra Kvitova, No. 4 Maria Sharapova, No. 12 Serena Williams, No. 14 Sabine Lisicki, No. 21 Ana Ivanovic.
LOSERS: Men: No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic, No. 14 Gael Monfils, No. 23 Milos Raonic, No. 27 Juan Ignacio Chela.
Women: No. 7 Vera Zvonavera, No. 9 Marion Bartoli, No. 18 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 27 Maria Kirilenko, No. 30 Angelique Kerber.
STAT OF THE DAY: 5. Number of games lost by Sharapova through three rounds (1-1-3).
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I think most people expected him to just retire ... but he managed to stay. So all the credit for him and happy birthday" — Djokovic, paying credit to his opponent, injured 30th birthday boy Nicolas Mahut, for continuing in his match against the defending champion to give the fans in sold-out Rod Laver Arena their money's worth.
ON COURT SUNDAY: No. 2 Rafael Nadal, No. 3 Roger Federer vs. local hope Bernard Tomic, No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, defending women's champion and No. 11-seeded Kim Clijsters vs. French Open champion Li Na.
SUNDAY FORECAST: Sunny, high of 88 Fahrenheit.
Results
The Associated Press
Saturday
At Melbourne Park
Melbourne, Australia
Purse: $26.83 million (Grand Slam)
Surface: Hard-Outdoor
Singles
Men
Third Round
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6), France, def. Frederico Gil, Portugal, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, def. Nicolas Mahut, France, 6-0, 6-1, 6-1.
David Ferrer (5), Spain, def. Juan Ignacio Chela (27), Argentina, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.
Richard Gasquet (17), France, def. Janko Tipsarevic (9), Serbia, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
Kei Nishikori (24), Japan, def. Julien Benneteau, France, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Mikhail Kukushkin, Kazakhstan, def. Gael Monfils (14), France, 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4.
Andy Murray (4), Britain, def. Michael Llodra, France, 6-4, 6-2, 6-0.
Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, def. Milos Raonic (23), Canada, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Women
Third Round
Petra Kvitova (2), Czech Republic, def. Maria Kirilenko (27), Russia, 6-0, 1-0, retired.
Sara Errani, Italy, def. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-2.
Maria Sharapova (4), Russia, def. Angelique Kerber (30), Germany, 6-1, 6-2.
Ana Ivanovic (21), Serbia, def. Vania King, United States, 6-3, 6-4.
Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, def. Vera Zvonareva (7), Russia, 7-6 (7), 6-1.
Zheng Jie, China, def. Marion Bartoli (9), France, 6-3, 6-3.
Sabine Lisicki (14), Germany, def. Svetlana Kuznetsova (18), Russia, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Serena Williams (12), United States, def. Greta Arn, Hungary, 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles
Men
Second Round
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski (6), Poland, def. Pablo Andujar and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Spain, 6-3, 7-5.
Ricardo Mello and Joao Souza, Brazil, def. Victor Hanescu, Romania, and Olivier Rochus, Belgium, 6-4, 6-4.
Frantisek Cermak, Czech Republic, and Filip Polasek (11), Slovakia, def. Mikhail Elgin and Alexander Kudryavtsev, Russia, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Max Mirnyi, Belarus, and Daniel Nestor (2), Canada, def. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, Colombia, 7-6 (0), 6-2.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna (4), India, def. Carsten Ball, Australia, and Treat Conrad Huey, Philippines, 6-2, 6-2.
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Pakistan, and Jean-Julien Rojer (8), Curacao, def. Philipp Marx, Germany, and Adil Shamasdin, Canada, 7-6 (8), 6-4.
Women
Second Round
Jarmila Gajdosova, Australia, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (12), United States, def. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia, and Jill Craybas, United States, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
Sania Mirza, India, and Elena Vesnina (6), Russia, def. Eva Birnerova, Czech Republic, and Alberta Brianti, Italy, 7-5, 7-5.
Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu, Romania, def. Natalie Grandin, South Africa, and Vladimira Uhlirova (9), Czech Republic, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka (7), Czech Republic, def. Petra Cetkovska, Czech Republic, and Stephanie Foretz Gacon, France, 7-5, 6-3.
Rika Fujiwara and Ayumi Morita, Japan, def. Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (10), Czech Republic, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.
Gisela Dulko, Argentina, and Flavia Pennetta (4), Italy, def. Silvia Soler-Espinosa and Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain, 6-2, 6-2.
Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, and Agnieszka Radwanska (8), Poland, def. Tamira Paszek, Austria, and Jasmin Woehr, Germany, 6-0, 6-0.
Petra Martic, Croatia, and Kristina Mladenovic, France, def. Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan, and Galina Voskoboeva (14), Kazakhstan, 6-7 (1), 7-5, 6-3.
Alla Kudryavtseva and Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, def. Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Katarina Srebotnik (1), Slovenia, 3-2 retired.
Mixed
First Round
Jelena Jankovic, Serbia, and Bernard Tomic, Australia, def. Ashleigh Barty and Benjamin Mitchell, Australia, 6-1, 6-3.
Elena Vesnina, Russia, and Leander Paes (5), India, def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia, and Max Mirnyi, Belarus, 6-2, 7-5.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, and Horia Tecau (8), Romania, def. Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak, Czech Republic, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 tiebreak.
Vladimira Uhlirova, Czech Republic, and Scott Lipsky, United States, def. Polona Hercog, Slovenia, and Juan Sebastian Cabal, Colombia, 7-6 (4), 7-5.
Liezel Huber, United States, and Colin Fleming, Britain, def. Raquel Kops-Jones and Eric Butorac, United States, 7-5, 6-2.
Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstan, and Andy Ram, Israel, def. Anastasia Rodionova, Australia, and Christopher Kas, Germany, 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 tiebreak.
Legends Doubles
Round Robin
Guy Forget and Henri Leconte, France, def. Darren Cahill and Richard Fromberg, Australia, 6-1, 6-4.
Mansour Bahrami, Iran, and Cedric Pioline, France, def. Pat Cash, Australia, and Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 2-6, 6-2, 13-11 tiebreak.
Show Court Schedules
The Associated Press
Sunday
At Melbourne Park
Melbourne, Australia
Play begins at 7 p.m. EST Saturday
Rod Laver Arena
Victoria Azarenka (3), Belarus, vs. Iveta Benesova, Czech Republic
Feliciano Lopez (18), Spain, vs. Rafael Nadal (2), Spain
Kim Clijsters (11), Belgium, vs. Li Na (5), China
Night Session (3 a.m. EST Sunday)
Bernard Tomic, Australia, vs. Roger Federer (3), Switzerland
Caroline Wozniacki (1), Denmark, vs. Jelena Jankovic (13), Serbia
Hisense Arena
Bob and Mike Bryan (1), United States, vs. Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins (15), Britain
Not before 8:30 p.m. EST Saturday: Julia Goerges (22), Germany, vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (8), Poland
Tomas Berdych (7), Czech Republic, vs. Nicolas Almagro (10), Spain
Legends: Wayne Arthurs, Australia, and Thomas Muster, Austria, vs. Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis, Netherlands
Margaret Court Arena
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva, Russia, vs. Gisela Dulko, Argentina, and Flavia Pennetta (4), Italy
Legends (not before 8:30 p.m. EST Saturday): Martina Hingis, Switzerland, and Iva Majoli, Croatia, vs. Nicole Bradtke, Australia, and Martina Navratilova, United States
Kimiko Date-Krumm and Kei Nishikori, Japan, vs. Gisela Dulko and Eduoardo Schwank, Argentina
Not before Midnight EST Sunday: Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, vs. Juan Martin del Potro (11), Argentina
Olivia Rogowska and Marinko Matosevic, Australia, vs. Casey Dellacqua and Matthew Ebden, Australia
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Just before she walked on court, Greta Arn said she was looking forward to the "privilege" of playing her first match against Serena Williams. Some privilege.
The 13-time Grand Slam champion overpowered Arn 6-1, 6-1 in 59 minutes on Saturday for her 17th straight win at the Australian Open.
The mismatch was so great that the crowd was muted, rousing themselves only when Arn won her two games and when Williams completed her third-round victory.
Arn double-faulted twice to end the match. As the players shook hands at the net, Williams looked briefly taken aback and smiled.
"I told her it was an honor to play against you," the 32-year-old Arn said. "And she told me, 'Oh, you are so sweet.' I'm a big fan of hers. She's the real No. 1."
Williams, who racked up her 501st career match win, is hoping to become the second woman over age 30 to win the Australian title in the Open era.
"It makes me feel really good," she said of her Hungarian opponent's remarks. "I'm really proud of the work that I've been doing for so many years, all the hard work."
Vania King's loss to Ana Ivanovic left Williams as the only American player left in either singles draw. John Isner lost Friday, the last American man to exit.
Coming off an injury-ravaged 18 months, Williams is seeded 12th in Melbourne. She hasn't held the top ranking since 2010, the year she won the last of her Grand Slam titles.
On Saturday, she spoke expansively about her off-court activities: She's taking courses in kinesiology and management and preparing for an appearance in a "pretty big" TV show.
Arn says "everybody knows" if Williams hits top form she will win the Australian Open, where she hasn't lost since 2008. She won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010 and was unable to defend her title last year while she recovered from two foot surgeries.
Because of her ranking, Williams can't take the No. 1 spot with a win at Melbourne. However, No. 2 Petra Kvitova, No. 3 Victoria Azarenka and No. 4 Maria Sharapova could walk away with the top ranking if they win the tournament.
Next up for Williams is unseeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova. After that, things are likely to get a lot tougher. Sharapova is a potential quarterfinal opponent, and Wimbledon champion Kvitova may await in the semifinals.
"I'm nowhere near where I want to be," said Williams, who came into the tournament nursing a sprained left ankle. "I'm just trying to play through it. A little rusty, just trying to play through my rust."
Sharapova and Kvitova joined Williams in advancing to the fourth round on Saturday. Between the three of them, they lost six games.
Kvitova was leading 6-0, 1-0 when Russian opponent Maria Kirilenko retired. Sharapova, who won her first two matches 6-0, 6-1, was tested for the first time and still came out with a 6-1, 6-2 win over U.S. Open semifinalist Angelique Kerber.
Like Williams, Sharapova came into the tournament short of matches. The three-time Grand Slam champion hurt her left ankle late last season and didn't play a tuneup event before the Australian Open.
"Whether it's a Grand Slam or anywhere else in the world, if you're committed to playing that tournament you have to be ready from the first match," Sharapova said.
It was a day of lopsided scorelines on Rod Laver Arena.
No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic routed Nicolas Mahut 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour, 14 minutes to give the Frenchman a miserable 30th birthday present.
Mahut, who lost the longest Grand Slam match in history over 11 hours, 5 minutes at Wimbledon in 2010, was hampered by a left leg injury, but said he played because the previous matches on Rod Laver Arena were over so quickly.
"I wish him happy birthday and hopefully tonight he can enjoy it," Djokovic said.
The defending champion has won 24 straight sets at the Australian Open, and has lost 10 games in his first three matches this time.
"I always played well in Australia. This is the only Grand Slam I won twice," he said. "The conditions are great. They're very suitable to my style of the game, day and night. I'm really looking forward to next week."
Djokovic likely gets an evening slot for his fourth-round match against Lleyton Hewitt. The 30-year-old Australian downed promising Canadian Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in Saturday's final match of the day before a raucous home crowd.
Playing in his 16th straight Australian Open, Hewitt needed three match points in the final game to close out the win and become the first wild card entry to reach the fourth round in Melbourne since Mats Wilander in 1994.
"It's just a game," Hewitt said. "But it's a bloody big game."
No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Roger Federer are back on court in a Sunday schedule that features a repeat of the 2011 women's final between Kim Clijsters and Li Na. Federer is up against Australian teenager Bernard Tomic. Nadal faces fellow Spaniard Felicano Lopez.
No. 4-ranked Andy Murray, beaten in the last two Australian finals, brushed aside Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 Saturday to leave France with two players in the draw, having started the day with six.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the other Frenchman to advance, the 2008 finalist beating Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
He will play Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach the fourth round in Melbourne in the Open era. Mikhail Kukushkin, who beat an ailing Gael Monfils in five sets, will be the first man from Kazakhstan to play a Round of 16 match at a Grand Slam when he faces Murray.
Williams is frequently the only American left in a tournament, and it doesn't bother her.
"I really don't think when I go out there that I'm the last American," she said. "I just think I'm trying to come in here and win this match, play this girl. That's all I really think about."
Aussie veteram Hewitt tops Raonic in four sets
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Lleyton Hewitt reached the Round of 16 in his 16th Australian Open after beating No. 23-seeded Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in a Saturday night victory that couldn't have been much sweeter.
The former No. 1-ranked Hewitt, who hasn't won a major since Wimbledon in 2002, entered the tournament on a wild card after slumping to a ranking in the 180s during an injury-marred 2011.
Despite his experience — he has played 50 previous Grand Slam tournaments and this Australian Open campaign beats the record of 15 held jointly by Jack Crawford and Harry Hopman — Hewitt had difficulty closing out against the 21-year-old Canadian.
He needed three match points to serve it out, and had to save two breakpoints in the process as Raonic went for everything to stay in the match.
"Absolutely. It's tough serving out any match. A couple of months ago I would have done anything to be in this position, serving to go into the second week at the Australian Open," said Hewitt, who will be 31 next month. "It's just a game, but it's a big bloody game."
Hewitt fended off Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the first round and was leading Andy Roddick by two sets to one when the American retired with a hamstring injury in their second-round match. He's still trying to break a drought for Australian men at their home major that dates back to 1976 — Hewitt's best run was to the final in 2005.
But his next opponent will be his toughest yet: defending champion Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic won the Australian title last year during a 41-match winning streak at the start of the season. The 24-year-old Serb won three of the four majors and finished the year at No. 1, surpassing both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
"Obviously, he's the best player in world at moment, he's there for a reason," Hewitt said. "What he did last year was amazing. I'm going to have to come out here, take it to him, see what happens."
Raonic is one of the emerging players on the tour after rising 125 places last year. He reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park in his last outing and started 2012 by winning the Chennai title without dropping a service game.
He is making his way back after hip surgery curtailed last season after a fall at Wimbledon.
And his serve and forehand are impressive. In his first tournament of the year at Chennai, he became the first player to win a tour-level title without dropping serve since Roger Federer won at Halle in 2008.
"He's a tough player, you don't get many opportunities to break his serve," said Hewitt, a tenacious counterpuncher. "I had to stay hungry and confident and keep holding serve."
Hewitt dropped serve twice but fended off two break-point chances in the last game. He broke Raonic's booming serve three times.
"It's not the best feeling but you just hang in there and keep fighting," Hewitt said of facing Raonic's serve. "He played some better tennis when he was behind.
"In the end I was a little bit lucky. He missed a high forehand volley he'd make probably 99 times out of 100."
Raonic said he could barely believe he missed the overhead in the tiebreaker, a shot he would make "365 days a year."
Hewitt struggled to overcome injuries and foot surgery last year and was restricted to only 20 matches — winning nine of them — in his least active season since 1998.
"I was just hoping the body would hold up for one match. I didn't look past the first round," Hewitt said of his expectations for Melbourne Park.
Raonic said Hewitt's experience was the biggest factor.
"He was more steady. He was more constant the whole match," he said. "I was more up and down. It's going to win the race that way.
"I guess it's unfortunate in a way because I felt like I had the ability to win, but I just didn't do it."
-- John Pye
Notebook: Zheng Jie inspired by Li Na's historic win
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — For China's other top tennis players, Li Na's breakthrough win at the French Open last year is a source of inspiration. If she can do it, they can do it, too.
Zheng Jie, a former semifinalist at the Australian Open, joined Li in the fourth round on Saturday with a dominating 6-3, 6-3 victory over ninth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France.
She said Li's win at Roland Garros last year — along with her march to the Australian Open final before that — not only encouraged more Chinese children to take up the sport, but made her believe she could capture a major, as well.
"A lot of years ago we practiced together," Zheng said of Li. "We (were) never thinking we can win singles Grand Slam. I think (her win) gives me more confidence."
Zheng has been close before. She and Li both made the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2010 — the first time any Chinese player had advanced that far in Melbourne. She also made the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2008.
Zheng has been ranked as high as No. 15, but she struggled last year after coming back from wrist surgery. Feeling fit again, she's off to a quick start in 2012, winning an Australian Open tuneup event in Auckland, New Zealand.
She also picked up some new dance moves in Auckland, performing rapper Jay-Z's signature shoulder-brushing move from the single "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" in a video for the tournament website.
Asked on Saturday if she's become a hip hop fan, she laughed. "Oh, I think this not my style," she said. "After my video, every player (who) watch me don't say hello, (they) say 'Yo, yo.'"
NOT MANY HAPPY RETURNS: The best part of Nicolas Mahut's 30th birthday came long after he walked off Rod Laver Arena.
At his postmatch news conference, tournament organizers presented him with a strawberry-topped birthday cake, which was a minor consolation for his lopsided — but injury-related — 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 loss to No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic in the third round.
Mahut injured a tendon in his left leg during the match and was wearing a brace at his news conference. He said the only reason he finished the match was because Saturday's first contest at Rod Laver Arena ended abruptly when Maria Kirilenko walked off after a set with a leg injury, gifting the victory to Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
The next match, Maria Sharapova's 6-1, 6-2 win over Angelique Kerber, wasn't much of a crowd-pleaser, either.
"There were a lot of people in the stadium and they paid good money for their tickets," Mahut said. "So I figured I owed it to them to try to continue."
Djokovic was impressed by Mahut's commitment.
"I think most of the people expected him to just retire the match and walk out of the court," Djokovic said. "But he managed to stay. So all the credit for him, and happy birthday."
The crowd was firmly behind Mahut, cheering loudly anytime he picked up a few points in a row.
Mahut saluted them in return. When he won his first game of the match — seven games in — he walked back to the service line with his arms outstretched, soaking up the applause with a smile on his face.
WHAT A CORKER: Perhaps it had to do with watching neighbor Spain rack up all the tennis accolades over the years.
Frederico Gil put his native Portugal on the tennis map by reaching the third round of the Australian Open — the best result ever for a Portuguese man at a Grand Slam. He fell to former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Saturday, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
"For my country, it's a big result," he said. "It's the first time, but at the same time, I always felt that it was something possible so I always worked and dreamed to be here.
"I know the people are happy about the result and I feel great that it's me doing this."
It wasn't Gil's first milestone for Portugal. In 2010, he became the first Portuguese man to reach an ATP Tour final — in his native Portugal — and last year reached the highest ranking ever by a Portuguese man at No. 62. (He was later passed by countryman Rui Machado, who hit a career-high ranking of 59.)
Gil was just sorry he didn't put on a better show for the fans back home on Saturday. "I know a lot of friends and fans, they were all watching today. I didn't play my best match, but it happens."
-- Justin Bergman
