TENNIS in DEPTH.

Jelena Jankovic crashed out of the Australian Open with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 defeat by China’s Shuai Peng in the second round. Serb Jankovic, a Melbourne semi-finalist in 2008, squandered a 5-2 lead in the first set as Peng fought back to 6-6 before claiming the tie-break. And world number 54 Peng made the decisive break in the sixth game of the second before holding on for victory.

Third seed Kim Clijsters brushed aside Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-3. Belgian Clijsters, a finalist in Melbourne in 2004, reinforced her title credentials with a dominant display from the baseline as she won eight successive games on her way to wrapping up the first set in 22 minutes. But world number 62 Suarez Navarro showed spirited resolve during the second set, breaking Clijsters’ serve in the fourth game at 3-1 before reducing the arrears to one game at 4-3. But Clijsters, who ruthlessly drubbed former world one Dinara Safina 6-0 6-0 in the first round, stepped up the intensity to claim the next two matches and her place in the third round, where she will play either 26th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez or France’s Alize Cornet. “I tried to play both sides of the court, tried to be aggressive and dictate the points. And it worked,” said Clijsters.

“A couple times I felt that my footwork really wasn’t in the right position, and I made some errors. But I reacted well afterwards and I stayed aggressive.”

Tenth seed Shahar Peer completed a routine 6-3 6-2 victory over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea to secure her place in the next round. The Israeli will play Italy’s 22nd seed Flavia Pennetta, who beat Spain’s Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-2 6-2.

Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova was the second seed to fall on Thursday after she was beaten 6-4 7-6 (7-2) by Romania’s Simona Halep. Japan’s Ayumi Morita progressed after a 6-4 6-4 win over France’s Caroline Garcia.

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Both Andy Roddick and Tomas Berdych overcame strong starts from their opponents on Wednesday at the Australian Open to reach the third round. World No. 6 Berdych rallied to defeat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, while No. 8 Roddick stepped up for a 7-6(7), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Russian Igor Kunitsyn. 

In Roddick’s second-round match, the American needed to fight off two set points in the tie-break against the 99th-ranked Kunitsyn before capitalising on his first opportunity to take the opening set. He broke Kunitsyn for a third time in the match to go up 5-3 in the decisive set, and served out the next game at love with an ace. Roddick finished the two-hour, four-minute match with 16 aces and saved all three break points faced on serve.

“It could have gotten uncomfortable today if that first set would have gotten away,” said Roddick. “In retrospect, you always try to convince yourself that’s a good thing to get through a tough set like that. Going into the match, if you’re given an option, you want it to be as easy as possible every time. “But I feel like I’m hitting the ball fine. I’m serving very well, kind of controlling the match with that right now. That’s always a good thing for me.” Roddick next faces Dutchman Robin Haase, the 2010 ATP World Tour Comeback Player Of The Year, who ousted No. 26 seed Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

American Mardy Fish, the No. 16 seed, was unable to join Roddick in the third round as Spaniard Tommy Robredo recovered for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win in two hours and 33 minutes. The 29-year-old Fish had posted his first comeback win from two sets down when he defeated Romanian Victor Hanescu on Monday.

Berdych looked in danger of losing in the second round of the Australian Open for a second straight year after conceding the only break of serve in the opening set, but turned the momentum in his favour as he went four for eight on his break point chances over the final three sets. Kohlschreiber had a chance to extend the match, holding a break point chance with Berdych serving for the victory, but the Czech won the final three points to clinch the win in just over three hours. The 25 year old will attempt to reach the fourth round in Melbourne for the fourth time in five years when he next faces No. 28 seed Richard Gasquet, who defeated fellow Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-4. Gasquet leads the head-to-head series 2-1, but Berdych dominated their most recent meeting in 2010 at Monte-Carlo, losing just two games. “I have a big match against Berdych. He’s the favourite of the match,” said former World No. 7 Gasquet. “ I will try to be my best and to play better, to take confidence. I need matches like that.”

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Vesna Manasieva (RUS) d  Marion Bartoli (FRA) 3-6 6-3 6-0. The former Wimbledon finalist departed in the second round today against Russian qualifier and world No.146 Manasieva. The Australian Open hasn’t been kind to Bartoli – in 10 visits the double-hander has failed to make it past the second round on eight occasions.

On the final point of the first set of her second-round match against miniature Czech Sandra Zahlavova, Venus Williams pulled up as if she’d been shot. Luckily, there weren’t any gunmen in the RLA crowd, it was just a Psoas (pelvic muscle) injury to Venus. Up a set and with her opponent hobbling, Zahlavova somehow didn’t manage to get a game on the board in the second. The third was closer but the injured Williams somehow prevailed. Guts from Williams and some not very smart play from Zahlavova when her opponent was on the ropes was the story of this match.

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Maria Sharapova was not at her best but still managed to book her place in round three of the Australian Open on Wednesday. The 2008 winner posted a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 victory over France’s Virginie Razzano on the Hisense Arena at Melbourne Park. But it was a far from fluent display from the Russian, whose serve looked out of sorts. She managed to get just 52 per cent of his first serves in and had to face a total of 16 break points. However, Razzano was only able to convert on five of them, while the Frenchwoman’s only delivery left a lot to be desired.

Unseeded Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova has put an end to Jelena Dokic’s Australian Open 2011 campaign after beating the Australian 7-6(3), 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena tonight. After a thrilling first set, the Aussie hopeful’s game slipped dramatically in the second as she struggled to stay in the match. “The first set was crucial. I think I had some chances. I should have played the tiebreak a bit better. She got better from there on. It was tough from there on to turn the match around.” The match started as the crowd was still pouring into Rod Laver Arena. Both the Czech and the Aussie were playing a varied game from the beginning, hitting from the baseline and attacking the net. While the 2009 Australian Open quarterfinalist had a home court advantage, Zahlavova Strycova says she wasn’t feeling too confident. “I was nervous at the beginning because it’s a big court and I’m not used to play on such a big court. And she was playing great at the first set. I felt like I was running all over the court. ”

Meanwhile, eighth seed Victoria Azarenka looked good as she won 6-4 6-4 against Andrea Hlavackova.

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Ana Ivanovic was upset 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 by world No.49 Ekatarina Makarova in the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. The nail-biting contest lasted almost three hours as the 23-year-old saved five match points before falling to an emotional defeat. Both players hit with fantastic depth from the very beginning, with the winners were mounting on both sides. Ana, a former finalist in Melbourne, was serving very well and was often rewarded with an easy ball to put away with her second stroke. The 19th seed was solid throughout the first set, hitting 16 winners and just seven unforced errors. She clinched the set in just 31 minutes, after a break to love in the fourth game, and without facing a break point herself. Ana held leads of 15-40 on Makarova’s serve in games one and three of the second set but, after she could not capitalize, her confidence appeared to dip and she became more passive.

It was Makarova who scored the first break of the set to take a 3-1 lead. Ana recovered from this break, but the Russian took the set when Ana netted an easy smash while facing break point in the tenth game. Similarly to the previous set, Ana immediately gathered some break chances and this time, she could make the break. However, the Russian showed fantastic defensive skills, taking control in the long rallies and reeling off three games in a row, twisting the 1-3 arrears into a 4-3 lead. Ana fought back from a perilous 0-40 scoreline in the following game, completing a crucial hold to level at 4-4 in the decider. At 4-5, Ana was trailing 0-40 on her serve and she had to save three match points. The first vanished thanks to an ace, while Ana produced one of her best ever second serves to prevent the second, while she fearlessly hit a winner in order to save the third. Ana saved another two late on, but the Russian continued to pull out wonderful strikes and she claimed the match, eventually converting her sixth match point.

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David Nalbandian saved two match points as he won an epic contest against home hope Lleyton Hewitt at the Australian Open. The Argentine prevailed 3-6 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7/1) 9-7 in a classic contest lasting four hours and 48 minutes. The clash, a rematch of the 2002 Wimbledon final, was clearly the pick of the first-round ties when the draw was made and it lived up to expectation. It was a rollercoaster affair. Hewitt took the first set but Nalbandian appeared to be in control when he won the second and immediately opened a 2-0 lead in the third. However, the Australian stormed back by winning eight of the next nine games to open a two-sets-to-one lead with an early break in the fourth set. The see-saw nature of the match continued though as Nalbandian levelled the set before sweeping through the tie-break to force a decider. The Argentine broke Hewitt in the third game of the final set and stepped up to serve for the match at 5-4.

But with the clock well past midnight, Hewitt, roared on by those fans who had stayed to see the finish, managed to break back and stay alive. Hewitt, who beat Nalbandian 10-8 in a fifth set at the 2005 Australian Open, saved two break points in the following game and then held match points in game 12 as the atmosphere on Rod Laver Arena reached fever pitch. However, a superb half volley from Nalbandian saved the first before a nerveless volley snuffed out the second chance. Former world number one Hewitt again staved off break points as he moved 7-6 ahead. Hewitt, who is now down at 54 on the ranking list, again found trouble on serve at 7-7 though and lost the game to love, gifting it away with a double fault. Nalbandian managed to serve out int he following game and the quality of the fifth set was summed up by the superb lob the 27th seed produced to seal victory well past 1am local time.

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Jelena Dokic revived memories of her thrilling run to the quarter-finals of the 2009 Australian Open on Monday, trouncing Czech Zuzana Ondraskova 6-3 6-2 in the opening round at Melbourne Park. The 27-year-old Dokic justified Tennis Australia’s decision to award her a wildcard by belting Ondraskova in just 67 minutes before a partisan capacity crowd at Margaret Court Arena. 

Jelena has split with coach Glenn Schaap. “We split a couple days ago, right before the Australian Open,” Dokic said after her first-round win. “Nothing special. No hard feelings, you know. There are certain people that suit you for your game and for your personality. “I feel like, you know, he didn’t suit the type of tennis that I wanted to play.”

She became the first Australian to win a match at the 2011 Open with her first victory at a major tournament since beating Karolina Sprem of Croatia in the first round of the 2009 French Open. Even a brief rain delay midway through the second set failed to halt Dokic’s momentum against Ondraskova, whose mediocre career grand slam win-loss record slumped to 4-18. “It’s a really different crowd to Rod Laver Arena, they are louder, but it’s a great crowd and I had to focus hard at the start because it was so loud,” said Dokic. “I have nothing to lose, it’s already a bonus that I’ve won the first round … I’m just going to go out there relaxed.” Dokic made all the running, belting 24 winners to only nine from Ondraskova. The Australian baseliner, who was ranked as high as No.4 in the world back in 2003, had her career revitalised by her quarter-final appearance at Melbourne Park two years ago.

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Four-time semifinalist Andy Roddick blitzed Jan Hajek 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round after No.18 Sam Querrey fell in five sets to Luckasz Kubot and 18-year-old Ryan Harrison went down to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. Roddick swarmed all over the Czech, nailing 31 winners and only committing 23 unforced errors, while his foe managed only 18 winners and committed 37 unforced errors. Roddick, who has become a cagey player at the age of 28, adeptly mixed up his shot selection, serving big when he needed to and winning all 11 of his net approaches. “I thought he liked the ball to come through pretty quick and flat, so I was trying to keep it out of his hitting zones,” Roddick said. “I served well; I put a lot of returns in. He was having trouble creating off of a chip and off of other things. So it was a little bit more cat and mouse than I think you would normally find certainly on a hotter day here.”

Roddick has been a second week fixture at the Australian Open for the past 10 years, compiling an impressive 35-9 record in Melbourne, but has never been able to make it to the final dance, losing tough semifinals to Rainer Schuettler in 2003 and to Lleyton Hewitt in 2005, but being crushed by Roger Federer in 2007 and 2009. Last year, Roddick reached the quarters and, while he put up a valiant effort after getting injured mid way through his match with Marin Cilic, he went down in five sets. While former No.1 Roddick fell out of the top 10 for a brief period last year, largely due to a bout of mononucleosis he was contending with, he still managed to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals again. He considers most of 2010 a wasted year. “The last time I was healthy I feel like was May last year,” he said. “Up to that point I had great results. Same with ’09 through when I got hurt, I had really good results. The biggest thing for me was getting right, getting healthy, feeling strong. That was the focus. [My coach] Larry [Stefanki] said, ‘Listen, I don’t care if you hit up until a certain point; I want you working; I want you strong. I don’t want us having to adjust our game plans around what you may or may not be able to do physically.”

Roddick has been a mentor to both Querrey and Harrison – among other American players – so hearing that they both went down didn’t sit well with him. While much has been made of those two’s potential as well of that of John Isner, it may be Roddick and fellow veteran Mardy Fish who make it the furthest in the tournament. “Sam will rebound,” Roddick said. “Last time everyone was kind of disappointed in him, he had his best results after the French last year. Hopefully we can look for a rebound like that. He came back, won Queen’s, got to this day what is his best result in a slam, fourth round in Wimbledon, and played well at the US Open.”

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