Monday, January 21
Last updated on Sunday at 11:20 am EST
Early update, more later...
AUSTRALIAN PRESS
The battler fought, and lost, but departs a winner - Melbourne Age
IT WASN'T to be. Casey Dellacqua, the great local hope for the 2008 Australian Open campaign, last night put up a spirited fight against world No.3 Jelena Jankovic, but lost 7-6, 6-1 in a battle that lasted an intense 81 minutes.
IT HAD to finish sometime and for Casey Dellacqua that time, a little inevitably, was last night. Two days after her irresistible upset of former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo on Rod Laver Arena, Dellacqua's brave run was ended on the same court, in the fourth round, by third seed Jelena Jankovic.
ORGANISERS of the Australian Open are unrepentant about breaking their own rules to make Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis play a match that ended at 4.34am yesterday.
Despite prevailing in the marathon five-set, 4¾-hour match, top-ranked Australian player Hewitt said he was "thrown" by the latest-starting, latest-finishing match in the tournament's history, which began at 11 minutes to midnight.
"Going on that late is not easy for anyone, any players, because it does throw your whole, you know, rhythm and clock out quite a bit," he said.
Organisers declined to invoke a new rule permitting the postponement of matches beginning after 11pm and appeared to give contradictory statements about whether the curfew rule would be applied to night sessions.
AH, SLEEP. It is a precious commodity in these parts. As Lleyton Hewitt was roaring his way to victory over Marcos Baghdatis, eyes popping and veins throbbing, his next opponent, Novak Djokovic, was tucked up in bed, dreaming of his move into the fourth round.
AUSTRALIAN Open organisers yesterday remained unrepentant about the bungled scheduling that meant Lleyton Hewitt's third-round match on Saturday did not finish until 4.33am yesterday, leaving the Australian with a difficult task to back up for tonight's fourth-round match against third seed Novak Djokovic.
MIA Hewitt was sleeping soundly just before 5am when her mother, Bec, collected the two-year-old from the Australian Open creche. Dad was preparing for an ice bath and then had a snack before fulfilling his media commitments as the sun was preparing to rise. Never before has Melbourne Park seen an afternoon/night/morning like it.Before Team Hewitt disbanded, it was decided that the goal of maximising recovery time would be best achieved by playing his fourth-round match against third seed Novak Djokovic tonight. "We were going to request a 'not before 11.30pm start'," quipped Hewitt's manager, David Drysdale, deprived of sleep, but not a sense of humour.
IT IS 4.34am Sunday and even Corey the party animal must be thinking about turning in. Yet, inside the Rod Laver Arena, Lleyton Hewitt is lying face down on the court, elated and exhausted. The vanquished Marcos Baghdatis is sobbing.
IN LOS Angeles, the high-ranking sports official was puzzled. This enthralling match he was witnessing on ESPN was supposed to be live, but it was 9.25am on Saturday, LA time. It made no sense.He sent a text message to an American sportswriter and friend, who was covering the Australian Open: "When did Hewitt and Baghdatis actually play? It is in the fifth set now and the TV says live, but how can that be?"
WEST Australian teenager Jess Moore was yesterday named to succeed just-retired Nicole Pratt in the Australian team for the Asia/Oceania zone group one Fed Cup competition starting on January 30.
TWO years ago there was Baghdatis. Last year it was Gonzales. This year it is Jo[]-Wilfried Tsonga, the feel-good player of the tournament, the irresistible force, the man the fans are riding to the final. After Lleyton of course. For the fans outside of Australia, and even those within, the song to sing is Tsonga.
TWO top-10 seeded men were knocked out of the Australian Open yesterday with David Nalbandian and Nikolay Davydenko making straight-set exits from the tournament.
HERE they come, marching up the corridors under Rod Laver Arena, bouncing on the balls of their feet, ponytails swinging side to side.
MARIA SHARAPOVA and Justine Henin both like to take hip hop classes but modestly lament their lack of talent. Co-ordination on the tennis court does not necessarily translate to fast feet on the dance floor.
For the neat, self-contained Belgian, her recent tilt at rap and street dancing has taken her out of her comfort zone. For the graceful Sharapova, hip hop classes in Florida are for entertainment,"to get a good laugh at yourself" she said yesterday.
THE decision to allow Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis to begin a third round match close to midnight - the latest starting time in the history of Grand Slam men's tennis - made a mockery of the Open's curfew policy. It also exposed an embarrassing breakdown in communication within the senior ranks of Tennis Australia.
THE theme of Casey Dellacqua's rollicking run through this year's Australian Open has been "nothing to lose".
A BUMBLED backroom powerplay at Melbourne Park that resulted in the near dawn finish of Lleyton Hewitt's match against Marcos Baghdatis yesterday has embarrassed Australia's top tennis officials and severely compromised the local contender's title hopes.
AN exhausted Lleyton Hewitt lay face down and motionless on Melbourne Park's blue battleground as thousands of supporters roared at the end of an extraordinary morning in Australian Open history.His vanquished opponent Marcos Baghdatis was a teary mess at the other end, devastated and delirious after his campaign ended 4-6 7-5 7-5 6-7 (7-4) 6-3.
UNTIL the events of this week, Marcos Baghdatis was the smiling face of world tennis. His story was a compelling one; his talent unquestioned.When he came to Melbourne, he charmed us silly and made opponents look sillier still. Has anyone ever had more fun here, without actually winning the whole thing, than Baghdatis did two years ago?
This week we have got to know Baghdatis in a different way. We know a little about the people he likes to socialise with in Melbourne. We know what happens when you mix some of these people with booze and capsicum spray and a heavy-handed police presence. We also know that Baghdatis, like so many of the young men of Cyprus, is politically aware and a little bit angry.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
Wires
CHINESE No1 Li Na called for the Australian Open to be moved to Shanghai , saying the city's climate was better for tennis than Melbourne. Li backed the prospect of shifting the season-opening Grand Slam, which has been played in Australia since 1905, after losing to Polish qualifier Marta Domachowska 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the third round of this year's tournament.
WORLD No4 Jelena Jankovic has been slapped with a big fine for illegal coaching, despite proclaiming her innocence.The Serbian was given a code violation when the umpire heard her speaking with her mother Snezana during her three-set third round win over Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano.
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