Serena Williams wins Womens Champion Title!

Serena Williams always selects a special outfit to bring to Australia for a victory celebration. Every second year, she gets to wear it.


“I always bring an outfit for the championships,” she said. “I always try to think positive, and I think it helps me be able to win.”

Williams was so dominant that Safina, a 22-year-old Russian playing in her second major final, didn’t feel worthy of being on the same court.

“It was first time for me to play not only for the Grand Slam, but also for No. 1 spot,” said Safina, the 2008 French Open runner-up. “I never been through this situation, and she was already.

“Serena was too good … I was just a ballboy on the court today,” added Safina, apologizing to the Rod Laver Arena crowd after the 59-minute match.

After Melbourne’s hottest three-day heat wave on record, conditions were a relatively mild 79 degrees for the tournament’s first women’s final at night.

Safina had been hoping to emulate two feats her brother, Marat Safin, achieved. He won the 2005 Australian Open—the day after Serena won her second title here—and held the No. 1 ranking.

“She played exactly the way she had to play and she was much more aggressive and she just was taking time out of me,” Safina said.

“She didn’t give me a chance.”

Williams’ win at the U.S. Open in September gave her the No. 1 ranking for the following four weeks, her first stint at the top since a 57-week stretch from July 2002.

She started this year at No. 2 and slowly worked her way through the tournament. She was struggling with her serve at times and had to fend off Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals when the Russian was serving for the match.

“I was playing lazy tennis in the beginning and I was doubting myself,” she said. “I’ll thank my mom for hanging in there this week. The first week was tough, but we got through it.”

She lifted herself in the semis to snap Olympic champion Elena Dementieva’s 15-match winning streak and was overpowering from the first game of the final, losing only eight points and winning 18 of the last 20 in the 22-minute first set.
Williams’ 6-0, 6-3 rout of Dinara Safina on Saturday earned her a 10th Grand Slam title, a fourth Australian title—coming each odd-numbered year since 2003 — and the No. 1-ranking.

“I actually forgot until the end when I was saying hi to my box. They’re like, ‘Hey, you’re No. 1.’ I was like, ‘Oh, yeah,”’ she said.

Not that a number means everything.

“I always believe I’m the best, whether I’m No. 1 or 100,” she said. “Just having that extra bonus is pretty cool.”

Williams set aside a stylish black top to wear for the big occasion this time. In between the match, doping tests and media commitments, she changed into it.

“I always bring an outfit for the championships,” she said. “I always try to think positive, and I think it helps me be able to win.”

Williams was so dominant that Safina, a 22-year-old Russian playing in her second major final, didn’t feel worthy of being on the same court.

“It was first time for me to play not only for the Grand Slam, but also for No. 1 spot,” said Safina, the 2008 French Open runner-up. “I never been through this situation, and she was already.

“Serena was too good … I was just a ballboy on the court today,” added Safina, apologizing to the Rod Laver Arena crowd after the 59-minute match.

After Melbourne’s hottest three-day heat wave on record, conditions were a relatively mild 79 degrees for the tournament’s first women’s final at night.

Safina had been hoping to emulate two feats her brother, Marat Safin, achieved. He won the 2005 Australian Open—the day after Serena won her second title here—and held the No. 1 ranking.

“She played exactly the way she had to play and she was much more aggressive and she just was taking time out of me,” Safina said.

“She didn’t give me a chance.”

Williams’ win at the U.S. Open in September gave her the No. 1 ranking for the following four weeks, her first stint at the top since a 57-week stretch from July 2002.

She started this year at No. 2 and slowly worked her way through the tournament. She was struggling with her serve at times and had to fend off Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals when the Russian was serving for the match.

“I was playing lazy tennis in the beginning and I was doubting myself,” she said. “I’ll thank my mom for hanging in there this week. The first week was tough, but we got through it.”

She lifted herself in the semis to snap Olympic champion Elena Dementieva’s 15-match winning streak and was overpowering from the first game of the final, losing only eight points and winning 18 of the last 20 in the 22-minute first set.
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Nadal defeates Verdasco in a 5 set Thriller to face Federer in Finals

Well Federer advanced to Finals yesterday with a dominating victory over Andy Roddick of USA. Now today the second semi Finals had two left Handed Spaniards facing each other for a spot to stop Federer from winning his 14th Grand Slam.

I solemnly swear that I never thought that Verdasco would never give a fight to the World Number one. But What happened in Melbourne Park was something I cant describe in words. The match which had 5 sets, 3 Tie breaks, spanning over 5 hours and 14 minutes was certainly a match of Lifetime for both the players.

Comparing it would be Unfair but It certainly was the best Tennis match I have ever seen. Verdasco gave the Number one A run for his money. He took the first set 7-6 then he lost the next two 4-6 and 6-7 but then after almost 3 hours the two players never lost their breathe, never shouted in frustration or nothing.

It was just PURE TENNIS. Verdasco came back from no where and won the 4th set Tiebreak 7-1. Then in the after 4 hours of DIE HARD tennis there were TWO CHAMPIONS standing there but the painful result of this game is some has to lose and it was Verdasco.


And the sadful part was When verdasco was serving 4-5 he gave a double fault at 0-30 to give 3 break points. He survived 2 of them with some amazing volleys but then came the saddest part of this great match. Verdasco double faulted again to give Nadal the Victory and also the right to stop Federer from winning that 14th title.

The Spanish top seed beat compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-7
6-4 7-6 6-7 6-4 in a five hour 14 minute contest which started
on Friday but did not finish until the early hours of Saturday.

"Right now I'm feeling more happy than tired," Nadal said in
a courtside interview.

"For sure it will be tough to play the final in another day.
My opponent will be difficult because Roger is always very
tough.

"It was amazing for me. Playing this match with an
unbelievable atmosphere. Thank you very much, it was one of my
best matches in my career."

Verdasco had lost all six previous meetings between these
two left-handers. Under the floodlights he clobbered 95 clean
winners and became the first player here this year to take sets
off the seemingly invincible Iberian.

He was ultimately unable to improve his miserable
head-to-head record, though, handing Nadal the victory when he
double-faulted on match point.

"That's a lot... too much I think," Nadal said of the number
of clean winners which flew past him.

"Fernando was playing unbelievable. His serve was amazing,
so, I think it's his best tournament in his career. He played
unbelievable. Today he deserved this win too so I want to
congratulate him."

Federer enjoyed a day off as Nadal toiled deep into the
night. The Swiss reached the final on Thursday evening, blasting
Andy Roddick off court 6-2 7-5 7-5 to reach his 18th grand slam
final and fourth one here.

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AUSSIE OPEN DAY 8 : Murray Ousted!

Andy Murray was one of the strong contenders for winning the title this time at the Australian open but he went out of the Grandslam in the 4th round itself without doing much damage to the top contenders.

And the man who defeated him is Spain's Fernando Verdasco 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was a tough fought match with some amazing tennis being played by both competitors.

Murray said he, too, hasn’t been feeling well the last few days, though he refused to use it as an excuse.

“I don’t feel that was the reason why I lost,” Murray said. “I definitely did have my chances, and he played too well. I’m disappointed that I lost. But I’ll try and learn from it. It’s not a disaster. I’m still playing well. I lost to a good player in a very close match. I’ll have more chances to win Grand Slams.”

Murray saved two match points after falling behind 40-0 in the last game but wasn’t able to fend off a third, dumping a backhand into the net.

Murray, who lost in the U.S. Open final last year to Roger Federer, was attempting to become the first British man since 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, left 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez feeling out of sorts with another dominating performance in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win. He has yet to drop a set and next faces the sixth-seeded Simon, who advanced when fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils retired with a wrist injury.

“I am playing well, but you never know if it’s going to be enough,” said Nadal, who had 33 winners and just 11 unforced errors.

Fifth seed Jo Wilfried-Tsonga produced an explosive performance that rivalled an overhead fireworks display to beat James Blake in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday.

Tsonga, last year’s beaten finalist, won the match 6-4 6-4 7-6 to set up a quarter-final with Fernando Verdasco, who had earlier beaten British fourth seed Andy Murray while Giles Simon defeated Compatriot Gael Monfils 6-4 2-6 6-1

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AUSSIE OPEN DAY 8 | Womens: Serena survives a scare

Elena Dementieva, made the quarterfinals for the first time in 11 years at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.Elena was all over Cibulkova with her blashing forehands and cross hands.

Williams was the biggest beneficiary of the wave of retirements. She lost the first set to 13th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and was so frustrated with her first serve that she cursed it, earning a warning for a verbal obscenity. The 19-year-old Azarenka, who woke up sick, had to quit in the second set.

Williams, seeking a 10th Grand Slam singles title, next plays 2004 U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova, who advanced when Zheng Jie of China retired at 4-1 in the first set. They are the only major winners still in the women’s draw.

No. 22 Zheng, hoping for victory on Chinese New Year, injured her left wrist when she tumbled after the third game. She had treatment immediately but retired two games later and will go for X-rays Tuesday.

Carla Suarez Navarro, the 20-year-old Spaniard who had an upset win over seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the second round, beat No. 21 Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-2.

She next plays Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva, who made the quarterfinals for the first time in 11 years at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.

The fourth-seeded Dementieva, who reached the finals at the French and U.S. Opens in 2004 but has not been to a Grand Slam championship match since, extended her winning streak to 14 matches. She won two titles in tuneup events.
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AUSSIE OPEN DAY 7 | Federer comesback from 0-2 in a thrilling 5 setter

After the first two sets in the 4th round Match between Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych at Melbourne Park, the whole world thought that it was going to be the biggest upset of the Tournament so far as Federer lost the two sets 4-6 6-7 but after 2 hours the same world realized why Federer has 13 Grandslams in his kitty!

The King of Tennis came back from 2 sets down to win the match 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Truly the class of a Champion. No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 winner over No. 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Defending Champ Novak Djokovic defeated Marcos Bagdatis 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), 6-2 while Andy Roddick cruised past Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1, 6-3

“You’ve got to hang in there, there’s no other solution,” Federer said. “… Tried to weather the storm. He was hitting the ball so heavy and so hard. He pushed me to the limit.”

A massive upset result loomed in the late afternoon when 20th-seeded Berdych was on top for the first two sets, working Federer around with powerful forehands to keep the Swiss star on the defensive. He consistently targeted Federer’s backhand with his powerful, kicking serve.

But Federer started finding his range and rallied in the third set and the momentum, already shifting toward him as Berdych’s errors mounted, really shifted his way at the start of the fourth set.

Berdych recovered from double breakpoint to deuce, and Federer got another breakpoint on a close line call. Berdych wanted to challenge, but no replay was available due to a technical glitch, so the call stood. Berdych argued with the chair umpire to no avail with the crowd breaking out in jeers, then netted a forehand to fall behind for the only break of the set.

Federer led 4-0 in the fifth but, serving at 5-2, nervously squandered double match point then double-faulted to give Berdych a break chance.

He forced deuce, fired back-to-back aces—the last was No. 20 for the match — then leapt in the air with a big “Yes!”

“I enjoy those kind of fights. It doesn’t happen all the time. It’s always special,” Federer said. “I hope it’s a good omen. I feel like I could play a couple more sets, so that’s a good sign.”

Federer has won 13 Grand Slam singles titles, one short of Pete Sampras’ record.

Federer will face No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 winner over No. 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic wasn’t pushed while taking a 5-0 lead, then had to work hard for a 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory over 2006 runner-up Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.


Andy Roddick improved his career record against Tommy Robredo of Spain to 10-0 and advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals.

The seventh-seeded Roddick beat Robredo 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 on Sunday, staying on track for a semifinal appearance for the fourth time in seven years.

Federer will face No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 winner over No. 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia.
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AUSSIE OPEN DAY 7 | Womens: Top seed out!

The shaky situation of the Women draw in the Australian open 09 continued even today as the Top seed Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the tournament following her compatriot Ana Ivanovic who went out yesterday and Venus Williams the day before.

Melbourne Park shook with an explosion of home-town roars, however, when Yugoslav-born Australian wildcard Jelena Dokic buried years of personal pain to reach the quarter-finals of the first grand slam of the year.

Jankovic was totally denied a chance by Marion Bartoli of France 6-1 6-4. The French women who wasw a Former Wimbledon finalist totally dominated the match winning it comfortably.

Melbourne Park shook with an explosion of home-town roars, however, when Yugoslav-born Australian wildcard Jelena Dokic buried years of personal pain to reach the quarter-finals of the first grand slam of the year.

The 25-year-old, whose split from domineering father Damir and subsequent struggle with severe depression and injuries was played out in front of the world’s media, wiped tears from her eyes after her 7-5 5-7 8-6 win over Russian Alisa Kleybanova.


No. 3 Dinara Safina had a narrow escape in the subsequent match, saving match points before fending off another French woman, Alize Cornet, in three. Safina, who was down 5-3 and 40-15 with Cornet serving for the match, rallied to win 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals here for the first time.

In another encounter No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, defeated No. 10 Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-4 in an all-Russia match.
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 6 Top seeds Dominate

Murray's confidence is growing day by day and so is his performance, Today he defeated Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 in his third round. Nadal the top seed defeated his opponent Tommy Haas in 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.


Serena Williams wasn’t her sharpest, but she hasn’t had to be so far. And there were no distractions as she beat overmatched China’s Peng Shuai 6-1, 6-4.


Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray dominated their third-round matches Saturday at the Australian Open to move closer to a possible semifinal showdown.

Top-ranked Nadal was broken by Tommy Haas for the first time in the tournament, but showed no weakness in ripping 53 winners to only eight unforced errors in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

“I think I played one of my best matches here at the Australian Open,” said Nadal, making his fifth appearance at Melbourne Park.

He will face 13th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, who beat Nadal in straight sets en route to a runner-up finish in 2007, who needed more than 4 hours to beat France’s Richard Gasquet with a 12-10 fifth set.

The fourth-seeded Murray, seeking his first Grand Slam title, ran off 11 straight games while overwhelming Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-0, 6-3. The 21-year-old Scot had only 10 unforced errors and next plays No. 14 Fernando Verdasco.

“I hope I can keep this form up,” Murray said. “I’m going to have to play my best every match to have a chance.”

Serena Williams wasn’t her sharpest, but she hasn’t had to be so far. And there were no distractions as she beat overmatched China’s Peng Shuai 6-1, 6-4.

Williams, still chuckling about the man who dashed on court half-naked during her doubles match Friday, overcame two service breaks in the second set to keep alive her pursuit of a 10th Grand Slam title.

With Haas playing at the top of his game, Nadal fell behind 2-0 in the first set, then never faced another breakpoint. He lost only 13 points in 12 service games and committed only one unforced error in the 43-minute second set and two in the third.

The crowd favorite for Murray’s match was clear, with Scottish flags and tartan hats scattered about on a cool night.

Constantly confounded by Murray’s blend of power, speed and spin, Melzer did get a huge ovation when he held while down 3-0 in the third set to end Murray’s streak of 11 games.

Melzer broke as Murray served for the match at 5-1 and fended off double match point in the next game. But Murray finished it off with his eighth ace, getting one step closer to becoming the first British man to win a major since 1936.

Sometimes sprinting to his chair during changeovers, Murray has raced through his first three matches in a combined 4 hours and 15 minutes—just six minutes longer than Gonzalez and Gasquet were on court Saturday—thanks in part to a 45-minute effort when Andrei Pavel retired in the first round with a bad back.

With fans screaming after every point like a Davis Cup match, Gonzalez saved a match point in the third-set tiebreaker, then a break point in the 21st game of the fifth set. The Beijing Olympics silver medalist broke Gasquet in the next, setting up match point with a perfect lob and clinching it with a backhand winner.

The mood seemed almost subdued as play got under way at Melbourne Park, a day after the streaker and a violent clash between Serbian and Bosnian fans kept security guards busy. A chair-flinging skirmish after defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Bosnian-born American Amer Delic left a woman injured, three men charged with riotous behavior and 30 people ejected by police.

Williams became increasingly frustrated against Peng as she was broken twice early in the second before pulling herself together.

“I started making more errors and then I lost my serve a couple times,” she said. “Then I think I put too much pressure on myself. Then, next thing I know, I was down.”

Luckily for Williams, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“I was like, ‘You know, Serena, sometimes you just play better when you’re down.’ I started playing better.”

Her concentration was severely challenged when the streaker danced his way on court a day earlier.

“I noticed he didn’t have underwear on. I thought, ‘OK, I must be seeing things.’ Then I just thought, my eyes, my innocent eyes,”’ she said, smiling.

Williams next faces No. 13 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who ousted 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo.

Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva extended her winning streak to 13 matches, beating Australia’s Samantha Stosur. Carla Suarez Navarro, who had an upset win over reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the second round, beat fellow Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.

Also advancing were No. 21 Anabel Medina Garrigues, who ousted 12th-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy, and No. 18 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

The Bondarenko sisters of Ukraine both were ousted, missing out on a fourth-round meeting. Kateryna lost to No. 22 Zheng Jie of China and older sister Alona fell to No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion.

No. 14 Fernando Verdasco of Spain beat No. 22 Radek Stepanek to advance along with three Frenchmen Saturday.

Among them was fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the runner-up here last year, who beat Israeli Dudi Sela and next meets No. 9 James Blake, who became the second American to reach the final 16, joining Andy Roddick.

Gael Monfils, a French Open semifinalist last year, beat No. 17 Nicolas Almagro of Spain and will face No. 6 Gilles Simon, who ousted No. 19 Mario Ancic of Croatia.

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AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 5 | Ivanovic Out, Federer IN

Well it seemed that the third round of the Australian open is gonna witness some marvelous tennis between Federer and Safin but in the end it was the classy Swiss master who came out with the flying colors as he defeated the Russian 6-3 6-2 7-6.

In the womens draw a Major upset came in the form of Ana Ivanovic as the 5th seed and the last year Runner up was defeated by Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2. It came as a shocker for the former world no.1 as she finished with 50 unforced errors to just 23 winners.

WINNERS: Men: No. 3 and defending champion Novak Djokovic, No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 19 Marin Cilic; No. 21 Tommy Robredo.

Women: No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, No. 3 Dinara Safina, No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, No. 10 Nadia Petrova, No. 15 Alize Cornet, No. 16 Marion Bartoli.

LOSERS: Men: No. 11 David Ferrer; Women: No. 19 Daniela Hantuchova, No. 25 Kaia Kanepi.

When it was over, Kleybanova dropped to the ground on both knees, pumped her fists and blew kisses to the crowd. Ivanovic appeared to be nearly in tears as she walked off court, throwing a towel to someone in the crowd.

The Serb’s loss came on a day that the late match between second-ranked Roger Federer and former No. 1 Marat Safin—which the Swiss star won in three sets—was supposed to produce the biggest news.

Instead, ethnic violence erupted between nationalist fans after Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, the defending men’s champion, beat Bosnian-born American Amer Delic.

One of several thrown chairs hit a woman and left her briefly unconscious. Insults and water bottles filled the air. Arrests were made, with dozens of people ejected from Melbourne Park.

This was what organizers had feared when they announced before the tournament that they were instituting a no-tolerance policy for disruptions.

In a rematch of the 2005 men’s semifinal, won by Safin en route to the championship, was dominated by Federer, who again looked sharp in his pursuit of a 14th Grand Slam title that would tie Pete Sampras’ record, winning 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Federer never faced a breakpoint, and the mercurial Safin’s growing frustration nearly boiled over when he was called for a foot-fault on his second serve. That gave him a double-fault and Federer a 4-1 lead in the third-set tiebreaker. Safin rallied to lead 5-4 before Federer ran off the last three points, the last on a backhand winner down the line.


“He gave me quite a few free points in the first two sets, but after that he got tougher,” Federer said. “I’m pretty lucky I got through in three.”

Safin has said he is unlikely to continue playing after this year. Federer clearly would miss him.

“I always like to play Marat,” Federer said. “We go back, we like playing each other. It doesn’t matter who wins.”

No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who won a warmup tournament in New Zealand, extended his winning streak to seven matches. No. 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia ousted No. 11 David Ferrer of Spain.
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 4 The day of Marathon matches | Venus Williams defeated

It really was a day of Marathon matches. Some had easy winners struggle to go through and some had eliminations of Favorites. The most classy one among them was the one in which last year runner us Jo-Wilfried Tsonga got past Ivan Ljubicic in a nail biting 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 scoreline.

It really was a electrifying match seeing some brilliant shots by both the players and some top class rallies. It was just a thing called Victory which separated Tsonga and Ljubucic.

In the womens draw a Major upset came with the defeat of Venus Williams, the Wimbledon Champion as she was defeated by the well know Gian killing Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, Venus wasted a match point before giving it up to Navarro. This is the biggest uoset of the 09 edition of the Australian open.

“I tried to think positive and say, ‘okay, I keep going, keep going all the time’,” Tsonga said.

“Today I was a little bit lucky.” “Tonight my back was very stiff but I won. I’m happy with that. I know I can play with (it).” added Tsonga

In another encounter Ivo Karlovic, the 25th seed defeated Mario Ancic in 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 scoreline.

Jurgen Melzer, defeated Andreas Beck, 5-7, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 6-3 while Radek Stepanek,defeated Michael Berrer, , 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5.

It was rather a easy outing for the top seeds as Rafael Nadal marched past Roko Karanusic 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, while Andy Murray the British favorite defeated Marcel Granollers-Pujol, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

In the womens draw a Major upset came with the defeat of Venus Williams, the Wimbledon Champion as she was defeated by the well know Gian killing Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, Venus wasted a match point before giving it up to Navarro. This is the biggest uoset of the 09 edition of the Australian open.

Usually the aggressor with her powerful shots, sixth-seeded Williams was sluggish as she was broken while serving for the match and dropped the last five games with the crowd cheering loudly for Suarez to finish off the victory.




“She was super consistent and aggressive and just went for her shots,” said Williams. While her sister and three time Champion Serena Williams went through to the next round with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Argentina’s Gisela Dulko.

“Lots and lots and lots of room for improvement,” second-seeded Serena Williams said. “But it’s good that I was able to win, too, when I wasn’t playing my best.”

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AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 2- Federer will meet Safin!

Former World no.1's and Former Australian open champions Roger Federer and Marat Safin will meet in the third round of the Australian open. Safin is the only man other than Nadal and Djokovic to have defeated Federer in a Grandslam after Federer won his first Grandslam.


That was in this same event in 2005 where Marat defeated Federer in the semi finals to defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the finals. Federer who is in search of the 14th grandslam will face a big challenge in form of Safin, for Safin he has nothing to lose.

The serbian top seed in the Women's ranking Jelena Jankovic cruised pass the second round defeating Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-4, 7-5. While her compatriot Ana Ivanovic defeated Italy’s Alberta Brianti 6-3 6-2 in her famous 'yeah' style.

Roger displaced Evgeny Korolev 6-2 6-3 6-1 in just around 86 mintues. He showed total class and dominance over his under ranked opponent.




“We had the epic in 2005.” said Federer about facing Safin. That was a semifinal thriller here that Safin won in a 9-7 fifth set en route to the championship. Federer, seeking to tie Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam titles, has won their last three meetings, including the last two at Wimbledon. Although Federer’s No. 2 ranking is 24 places higher, Safin’s talent, unpredictability and famed volatility set the stage for an early marquee matchup.

Djokovic defeated Jeremy Chardy in a 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 win. “I’m playing better and better which is very encouraging,” Djokovic said. “I really stepped it up.”

The serbian top seed in the Women's ranking Jelena Jankovic cruised pass the second round defeating Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-4, 7-5. While her compatriot Ana Ivanovic defeated Italy’s Alberta Brianti 6-3 6-2 in her famous 'yeah' style.




No. 3 Dinara Safina overcame 44 unforced errors in a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-0 win over fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova and will next play No. 25 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.

Seventh-seeded Andy Roddick had his hands full against Xavier Malisse of Belgium, Roddick, a semifinalist here three times and the 2003 U.S. Open champion, rallied for a hard-fought 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (1), 6-2 victory. Malisse seemed to lose steam after forcing the third-set tiebreaker, where he won only one point.

The upset of the day came with David Nalbandian who was defeated by relatively unknown Yen-hsun Lu of Taiwan 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in just under four hours.

In the doubles, second-ranked Bob and Mike Bryan opened with a victory, as did Serena and Venus Williams, the Beijing Olympics doubles gold medalists on the women’s side.

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So Far So Good!

It was a good opening for all Men and Women Top seeds at the Australian open 09 as Federer, Djokovic, Murray, Roddick and Jankovic, Ivanovic, Serena, Venus all Cruised pass through the next round.



Roger Federer took his first step towards a record-equalling 14th grand slam title with a 6-1 7-6 7-5 victory over Italy’s Andreas Seppi in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.

World No.1 Jelena Jankovic and World no.5 Ana Ivanovic both posted straight-sets wins Monday to advance to the second round at the Australian Open. The prospective of a serbian victory looks damn bright.

The world number two, seeking to equal Pete Sampras’s grand slam-title record of 14, romped through the first set but was made to work hard by the world number 35, who squandered several break opportunities throughout the match.

Third seeded and Defending Champion Novak Djokovic made a Quick work out of Andrea Stoppini by defeating him 6-2 6-3 7-5. Andy Roddick made a total joke over Bjorn Rehnquist by thrashing him 6-0 6-2 6-2 with his huge forehands and Bulleting Serves. He sure looks like a tough competition to the top 4.



Other seeded players like Juan Martin Del Porto, David Ferrer, David Nalbandian, Stansilas Wawrinka and Robin Soderlink all advanced to the second rounds.

The Women's Draw

World No.1 Jelena Jankovic and World no.5 Ana Ivanovic both posted straight-sets wins Monday to advance to the second round at the Australian Open. The prospective of a serbian victory looks damn bright.

Jankovic defeated Yvonne Meusburger in a commanding 6-1 6-3 scoreline while Ana secured her passage to the second round with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Germany’s Julia Goerges at Hisense Arena.

Another strong Contender Dinara Safina defeated Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-3, 6-4. Indian Sania Mirza too went through the second round with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Marta Domachowska.



Second-seeded Serena Williams progressed to the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over China’s Yuan Meng, while her Sister takes on Angelique Kerber later today. The fourth seeded Elena Dementieva will take on Kristina Barrois. Read more!