Zvonareva moves on; Venus out
MELBOURNE, Australia - Second-seeded Vera Zvonareva kept alive her bid for a third consecutive Grand Slam final, beating Lucie Safarova, 6-3, 7-6 (9), on Saturday to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia - Second-seeded Vera Zvonareva kept alive her bid for a third consecutive Grand Slam final, beating Lucie Safarova, 6-3, 7-6 (9), on Saturday to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
On the men's side, Andy Murray moved another step closer to consecutive Australian Open finals, routing Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, in the third round of the year's first major, and fourth-seeded Robin Soderling beat Czech qualifier Jan Hernych to extend his winning streak to eight matches.
Soderling's match was delayed for about 10 minutes in the third set when a bubble seemed to appear on the court surface at Hisense Arena. Tournament organizers said moisture from recent rains had gathered under the court's Plexicushion layer and evaporated as temperatures rose, causing a pocket of vapor. Stadium staff repaired the problem quickly.
Venus Williams' bid for a first Australian Open title evaporated quickly Friday night.
The seven-time major winner had played 251 Grand Slam matches and never retired because of injury, but it took all of four minutes for that streak to end against Germany's Andrea Petkovic. Williams won just one of seven points before aggravating a hip muscle that she hurt Wednesday against Sandra Zahlavova and quitting.
Williams wasn't the only high-profile loser in the third round. Justine Henin lost, 6-4, 7-6 (8), to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
In the men's draw, defending champion Roger Federer took a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Xavier Malisse, and No. 8 Andy Roddick overcame Robin Haase with 32 aces.
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal plays 18-year-old Australian wild card Bernard Tomic on Saturday night.