|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
| ||
|
Men's Tennis
| ||
|
Women's Tennis
| ||
| |
|||
| Tuesday, January 23 |
|||
| Williams sisters, Hingis, Pierce advance ESPN.com news services | |||
|
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Dressed for success once more, Venus Williams overpowered fellow
American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3, 7-6 (3) Thursday to reach the
third round of the Australian Open.
Williams again wore the provocative black and blue outfit that
drew international attention when unveiled in the opening round.
But this time she appeared more comfortable in the ensemble, which
was modified to nearly eliminate the low-cut gap in her two-piece
top that caused such a stir.
"I love the outfit," a beaming Williams said. "(I feel) very
relaxed, very confident, comfortable -- just beautiful."
Shaughnessy, for the record, wore a white shirt and skirt.
Both Williams sisters cruised on Thursday. No. 6 seed Serena Williams def. Nadejda Petrova 6-3, 6-2 to make the third round.
Serena Williams completed a comfortable victory in 65 minutes and next will face Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn.
Serena's best performance at the Australian Open was making
the fourth round in 2000. She could face older sister Venus
in the quarterfinals this year.
Another American, Amy Frazier, became the third seeded woman to
exit when she was beaten by Rita Grande 6-4, 6-1. Frazier was
seeded 16th.
Top-seeded Martina Hingis beat Els Callens 6-1, 6-0 in 40
minutes. Hingis' first match lasted 39 minutes.
Hingis, a finalist here the last four years and champion
three times, may have to beat both Venus and Serena Williams
this year just to reach the final.
"I think I'm getting there, I'm going in the right
direction," she said after her demolition of Callens.
The draw, which has put her in the same half as the two
Williams sisters, will make it tough for her to make up for lean
grand slam pickings of late. The 20-year-old has not captured a
Grand Slam title since she won in Melbourne in 1999.
"I'm hoping for another one, that's for sure," Hingis said
of her Grand Slam drought. "If it will be here, that's great."
No. 13 Amelie Mauresmo, the 1999 runner-up, beat Nicole Pratt
6-0, 7-5.
No. 7 Mary Pierce remained on course for a quarterfinal clash
with Venus Williams, beating Mariana Diaz Oliva 6-2, 6-2. No. 9 Elena
Dementieva, the silver medalist in the Sydney Olympics, overcame a
match point in the second set to edge qualifier Andrea Glass 2-6,
7-6, (6), 6-3.
No. 10 Amanda Coetzer, a two-time semifinalist, defeated Silvija
Talaja 6-1, 6-3.
In men's play, No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov took three hours to beat
Nicolas Kiefer 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. No. 16 Sebastien Grosjean swept Jan Siemerink 6-3, 6-0, 6-4.
Venus Williams, who repeatedly fidgeted with her top
in the first round, this time was able to focus on tennis. She was
in a particularly aggressive mode, charging the net early and
often, and although she blew two easy volleys to lose a service
game, she also won 19 points at the net, many with smash volleys.
And twice when Shaughnessy dared to attack, Williams belted
passing shots that sent her opponent sprawling.
"In my first match I didn't come in very much," the third-seeded Williams said.
"Last year what really got me all my titles was just being
aggressive and moving forward, so I'm definitely implementing that
in my game more and more as the rounds go on."
Williams failed to convert a match point at 5-4, lost the next
game as well and then held to force the tiebreak. She stayed back
the rest of the way and closed out the win with two forehand
winners and a service winner on the final three points.
As the crowd applauded the victory, Williams responded with a
smile, wave and single hop. She moved one step closer to her third
consecutive Grand Slam title.
Williams' outfit was front-page news in Australian newspapers
following the opening round, but she said she didn't see any of the
photos.
"I really don't read the papers," she said. "I find a lot of
these stories are exaggerated, and there's a lot of uproar. I've
been advised by my mom and dad not to read too much of anything,
especially about me." | |
ALSO SEE Australian Open results Kuerten falls: World's No. 1 tumbles out of Australia Davenport not at her best, but still winning Norman, Kuerten fight back to win Aussie openers Sampras, Davenport, Safin survive Aussie openers Hewitt craves Grand Slam win at home | |
|
|