Djokovic beats Nadal to win Australian Open

Novak Djokovic wore down Rafael Nadal in the longest Grand Slam singles final in the history of professional tennis Sunday, winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 after 5 hours, 53 minutes to claim his third Australian Open title.

AP Novak Djokovic holds the trophy aloft during the awarding ceremony after defeating Rafael Nadal in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne.

Djokovic sealed victory at 1.37 a.m. local time and became the fifth man since the Open Era began in 1968 to win three straight Grand Slam finals.

The 24-year-old Djokovic tore off his shirt in celebration after one of the most dramatic finals in the history of the game. He went to his support camp and repeatedly thumped the side of the arena in delight and relief.

Djokovic’s win mantained his mastery of Nadal, who has lost seven straight finals against the Serb since March last year.

In the most devastating of circumstances, Nadal became the first man in the Open Era to lose three straight major finals. He lost in four sets to Djokovic at last year’s Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

After coming from 5-3 down to win the fourth-set tiebreaker, Nadal was up a break at 4-2 in the fifth set against Djokovic, who seemed to be tiring.

But the No. 1-ranked Djokovic, who needed almost five hours to win his semifinal against Andy Murray, somehow responded. He broke for a 6-5 lead and saved a break point before finally claiming the win.

The previous longest major singles final was Mats Wilander’s win over Ivan Lendl at the U.S. Open in 1988, which lasted 4 hours, 54 minutes.

The longest Australian Open final also involved Wilander in 1988, when the Swede beat Pat Cash.

Leander Paes completes long-awaited career Grand Slam in doubles

Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek won 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 over defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan. (AFP Photo)

BANGALORE: Leander Paes, the 38-year-old livewire, lit Melbourne Park with his sparkling play on Saturday night, to clinch his first men's doubles title at the Australian Open and in the process completed a long-awaited career Grand Slam in the doubles.

In the title round, Paes, partnering Czech strongman Radek Stepanek, stopped the top-seeded defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States, who were on a 23-match winning streak in Melbourne. Paes and Stepanek won 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 win in 84-minutes. The champions, playing just their fourth tournament together, took home $454,500, while the Bryans, five-time champions here, settled for $227,250.

Paes, who thanked his partner for, "putting me on your shoulder and carrying me through this week", added, "I've lost three Grand Slam finals to the brothers and you can imagine how I felt coming out today to play them. Two weeks ago in Sydney, they gave us a hiding. I have the greatest respect for Mike and Bob, who are one of the finest ambassadors of the game."

Paes, who clinched his seventh Grand Slam men's doubles title on Saturday, applauded the Czech-born American legend Martina Navratilova, who was at courtside cheering the Indian. He called Navratilova an inspiration. "I've learned so much from you in life," he said.

The Paes-Stepanek friendship, which was on display through the final, was further underlined when the 33-year-old Czech, a former top-10 singles player, presently ranked 92 in doubles, said, "I know what this title means to Leander. He has won all the other Grand Slams, this one was the one missing from his trophy cabinet, I am glad I was able to help him win today."

If Paes, having finished runners-up in Melbourne on three occasions, including last year, when he and Mahesh Bhupathi fell to the Bryans in the final, was the difference between the four men on the court, Stepanek, seeking his first Grand Slam title, held his end up wonderfully, especially at the net. From the baseline, the Czech, ranked 31 in singles, was relentless.

Seventh Heaven

Following is the list of Leander Paes' Grand Slam men's doubles triumphs:

1999 French Open (with Mahesh Bhupathi): bt Goran Ivanisevic (Cro) & Jeff Tarango (US) 6-2, 7-5

1999 Wimbledon (with Bhupathi): bt PauHaarhuis (Hol) & Jared Palmer (US) 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6

2001 French Open (with Bhupathi): bt Petr Pala & PaveVizner (Cze) 7-6, 6-3

2006 US Open (with Martin Damm): bt Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) & Max Mirnyi (Blr) 6-7, 6-4, 6-3

2009 French Open (with Lukas Dlouhy): bt Wesley Moodie (RSA) & Dick Norman (Bel) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

2009 US Open (with Dlouhy): bt Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) & Mark Knowles (Bah) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

2012 Australian Open (with Radek Stepanek): bt Bob & Mike Bryan 7-6, 6-2

Mixed Doubles titles : 6 (3 Wimbledon, 2 Australian Open, 1 US Open)

Djokovic tops Murray in Aussie Open final

Novak Djokovic celebrates after beating Andy Murray in the Australian Open men's singles final Sunday in Melbourne. (Rob Griffith/Associated Press)

Novak Djokovic hit passing shots and looping lobs with equal perfection to overwhelm Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday, winning his second Australian Open title and extending Britain's near 75-year drought in men's Grand Slam singles.

Djokovic's 2008 Australian title is his other Grand Slam victory. Murray has lost three Grand Slam finals, also falling to Roger Federer in the 2008 U.S. Open and 2010 Australian Open.

Djokovic overcame big obstacles en route to the final, including a win over Federer in the semifinals. And this came just two months after leading Serbia to its first Davis Cup title.

"We have known each other for such a long time," Djokovic said of Murray. "It was difficult tonight."

About an hour after his win, Djokovic went out on a balcony on the concourse at Rod Laver Arena and lifted his trophy as hundredsof supporters cheered below.

There wasn't much to celebrate in Murray's camp: he's still yet to win a set in a Grand Slam final.

Last year, the Scot cried after his loss to Federer. There were no visible tears this year, but the hurt may have been just as bad after he lost seven straight games through the end of the first set and into the second and never appeared to be in the match.

"I'll try to keep it together this year," Murray said, speaking confidently and talking about "having more chances in the future" as the crowd yelled out "Andy! Andy!"

The last British man to win a Grand Slam singles title was Fred Perry in the 1936 U.S. Open — more than 270 majors ago.

"It was better than it was last year," Murray said at his media conference. "I thought Novak played unbelievably well. It's tough, but you have to deal with it."

Murray said he tried to get himself back into the match, but Djokovic defended too well.

"You always have to try to find a way, to believe," Murray said. "When I got ahead in some games, even in just points, he was sticking up lobs that were landing on the baseline, passing shots that were on the line. I broke his serve twice in the third set and still lost 6-3."

The statistics underlined Djokovic's domination. He won 11 of his 14 service games, while Murray only won six of 13, and the Serb pounded Murray's second serve, with the Scot winning just 16 of 51 points (31 percent) on his second serve.

Murray and Djokovic, each 23 and born a week apart, are good friends and often practice together. At the coin flip before the match, Djokovic smiled broadly for photos while Murray looked fidgety and nervous.

After the match, the two hugged, then Djokovic threw his racket, his shirt and then shoes into the crowd. But there was no prolonged celebration so as to not offend his opponent.

"I understand how he feels, it's his third final and he didn't get the title," Djokovic said. "As I said on the court, I really have big respect for him and his game, because I think he has everything what it takes to become a Grand Slam champion."

The roof was closed at Rod Laver Arena for most of the day due to 100-degree temperatures, but was opened just before the match started and after the weather had cooled significantly.

Trailing 5-4, Murray double-faulted to lead off the 10th game of the first set. Then he hit a backhand into the net after a 39-hit point. Murray challenged the final point of the set when he thought his forehand stayed in on the backline, but Djokovic walked away with the set in 59 minutes.

"Maybe there was a turning point in the whole match, that 5-4 game," Djokovic said. "I was a bit fortunate, I kind of anticipated well and read his intentions and played some great shots and great moments. It is a big advantage mentally when you are a set up and you are getting to the second set and really going for the shots."

Djokovic held serve on four straight points to open the second set, then went up 2-0 when he again broke Murray's service, finishing off the point when Murray's attempted drop shot was returned cross-court for a winner. Murray had five unforced errors in the first two games.

The Serb went up 3-0, then continued his domination in the next game, breaking Murray in four straight points to go up 4-0 and held for 5-0, his seventh straight game win. Murray finally stopped the streak with an ace on game point to trail 5-1, then broke Djokovic in the next game to cut it to 5-2.

Murray appeared to be having problems with his eyes, blinking often and rubbing them on changeovers and often during points. That didn't help in the next game when he again dropped serve and lost the second set in 40 minutes, Djokovic establishing set point with a memorable crosscourt winner off a near-impossible shot from Murray.

The third set started with Murray's second break of Djokovic's service in the match, but Djokovic ensure that Murray's advantage was short-lived by breaking him in the next game. After an unforced error wide, Murray pounded his fist and yelled out in disgust.

Things didn't improve for Murray, who held off six break points before Djokovic prevailed on the seventh in the fourth game, hitting a backhand down the line to pass a stretching Murray. Djokovic pumped his fist and let out a loud yell in celebration.

That, too, was short-lived, when Murray broke back in the next game to pull to 3-2, then held through two break points to level the set at 3. Late in the match, Murray appeared to clutch his lower back after a low return on the baseline.

Djokovic soon broke serve again and then served it out to win in 2 hours, 39 minutes.

Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 5-3, ending a three-match streak for Murray.

Earlier Sunday, Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia and Daniel Nestor of Canada won the mixed double doubles championship, beating Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan and Paul Hanley of Australia 6-3, 3-6, 10-7. -AP

Paes-Bhupati miss Aus Open title again, lose the final

MELBOURNE: The Australian Open trophy continued to elude Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as the re-united 'Indian Express' could not stop Mike and Bob Bryan from scoring a hat-trick of titles at the Melbourne Park here today. The third seeded Indian pair, which united after nine years with an aim to complete their career Slam, lost 3-6 4-6 to the top seeded American twins in the summit clash of the men's doubles event which lasted a little over one hour.

The Bryan brothers won their fifth Australian Open trophy but it slipped out of the hands of Paes and Bhupathi for the second time, having lost the title clash back in 1999. They reached the final here with different partners after separating but neither of the two players could complete the career Slam.

Paes made the final with Czech Republic's Martin Damm in 2006 while Bhupathi ended runners-up with Bahamas' Mark Knowles in 2009. However, it is a fabulous start for the Indian pair in the 2011 season as they had won the Chennai Open early this month. Paes and Bhupathi last played at a Grand Slam together in 2002 when they lost in the second round. Bhupathi said he would continue playing with Paes in the remaining season.

"There is a reason why Mike and Bob are number one team. When they have a first serve percentage of 83, it is impossible to beat them. I thank my partner (Paes), it took the best team in the planet to stop this train. Looking forward to playing with you a lot more this year," Bhupathi said. In today's final, the Bryan brothers dominated as they served well and were miser on the unforced errors' count but had the Indians converted the break chances in the very first game of the match, it might have been different.

Left-handed Bob served extremely well after being down 0-40 to lead 3-2 on serve. The sixth game, in which the two pairs played a stunning 20-shot rally, turned the tide in favor of the defending champions as the Americans converted their first of the two break chances off Paes' serve. It was easy for the Americans from there on as Bob served out the set after just 29 minutes of play.

The Indian duo did well to save a break point in the fifth game of the second set but Bhupathi dropped his serve in the ninth game to hand the Americans the advantage. Bob served out the set, match and the championship in the next game after saving another break point. -PTI

Australian Open: Andy Murray's previous grand slam final appearances

Andy Murray will compete in his third grand slam final on Sunday when he takes on Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. Let's hope it goes better than his two previous attempts.

Pain of defeat: Andy Murray acknowledges the crowd after losing to Roger Federer in the final of the Australian Open last year Photo: AFP

US Open 2008 - Federer beat Murray 6-2 7-5 6-2

Andy Murray’s first appearance in a grand slam final, at the 2008 US Open, went by so quickly that he can hardly remember a thing. “That first final I played against Federer, I didn’t know what was going on. It just went by really quickly,” Murray recalled.

Federer had the advantage of a day’s rest before the final, which, because of the rain at Flushing Meadows, was played on an unscheduled third Monday.

Murray’s semi-final victory over Rafael Nadal was spread over a couple of days, having started on Super Saturday and finished on Sunday, while Federer had completed his win over Novak Djokovic on Saturday.

Yet, even if they had both had similar preparation for the final, Federer would almost certainly still have beaten Murray at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Murray was playing an opponent whose victory made him the first man since Bill Tilden in 1924 to win five consecutive US Open titles (Tilden won six in succession from 1920 and 1925), as well as the first to win two different slams five times in a row, having already achieved a golden five on Centre Court at the All England Club.

Murray, who was the first British man to appear in a slam final since Greg Rusedski finished as the runner-up to Pat Rafter at the 1997 US Open, was beaten in straight sets.

Australian Open 2010 - Federer beat Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6

Roger Federer suggested before last year’s Australian Open final that Andy Murray would be attempting to become Britain’s first male winner of a grand slam for “around 150,000 years”.

That was bettered by Murray’s remark during the post-final ceremonies. A year after Federer had broken down after a five-set defeat to Rafael Nadal, and told the crowd on the Rod Laver Arena, “God, it’s killing me”, Murray also lost control of his bottom lip during his thank-you speech.

Murray might have lost another grand slam final in straight sets to Federer, yet he still had something to add to the evening and he returned to the microphone, his eyes pink and puffy, and said: “I can cry like Roger, it’s a pity I can’t play like him.”

Perhaps, if Murray had taken the third set — he held a 5-2 lead in games, and could not convert any one of his five points for the tiebreak — this could have ended very differently.

As it was, Federer stood on the podium holding his sixteenth grand slam trophy and Murray sobbed into the mike. The tears, and the self-deprecating humour, would have done much to soften Murray’s image, though.

Australian Open: Time to create History

Paes - Bhupati to play Australian Open Doubles Final today.

You can call it a grand re-union of the greatest Lawn-tennis duo that India has ever produced. After a break of nine long years, the Indian tennis veterans Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes are back together to recreate the magic. They have already showed their powerful chemistry on the court by clinching their first doubles title on their reunion and fifth at the ATP Chennai Open this year. What next for this great Indian pair, popularly called the "Indian Express", is the first Grand Slam of the Year, the Australian Open.

Paes and Bhupathi played with determination to start the season and have stormed into the Australian Open men's doubles final. If they beat hattrick-chasing American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the final today, the dashing duo will win the only Grand Slam title missing from their list of achievements. Will the trademark chest bumps create the magic once again? Will the aggression, which had once made them a feared doubles pair, bring us that missing laurel?

Let's stroll down the memory lane and recall the success saga of Paes and Bhupathi. It was in 1997 Chennai Open when the pair won their first ATP doubles title and then went on to write a number of chapters in tennis history. It was in Chennai only that the duo won three back to back titles from 1997 to 1999. The year 1999 was their most successful year in Grand Slam history, winning the French Open and Wimbledon titles.

In 2002, the pair made a successful comeback in Chennai by winning the title once again, but then the unnamed split happened and from such a high, the relationship between the pair gradually declined and reached a point of no communication. The exact cause or causes for the rift has never been known so far though various factors like ego clashes, each player garnering more attention than the other have been rumoured over the years. But the lure of a much awaited win at the Rod Laver Arena seems to be stronger than the dislike, and the dominating double partners are back to rule the court.

Paes and Bhupathi forged a formidable partnership in the late 90s until 2001-02, before they split up as a pair and decided to go on their own individual courses. But both of them had struggled with their doubles campaign with other players. While Paes partnered with players like Sebastian Lareau of Canada and Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, Bhupathi tried his hand with players like Belarussian Max Mirnyi, Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Andrew Kratzmann of Australia. Although they have achieved decent success with their other double partners, but the chemistry they shared with each other as a team was incomparable.

Paes showed promise early in his career by winning titles at the Junior U.S. Open and the Junior Wimbledon. He rose to the number 1 in the world in the junior rankings. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he beat Fernando Meligeni to win the Bronze medal. However, his journey being a single player was not that great. Like Paes, Bhupathi also had greater success in doubles as compared to singles as he won only 10 singles matches, while lost 28 matches, so far in his career. But together these two Indians have made remarkable records and hence, regarded as one of the best doubles team in the world of tennis.

Today, when the Indian duo will take on the Bryans, the crowd will surely do their bit in providing the impetus. Inspiration will come from a loud 'Come on' and the whole India will hold its breath to see whether the magical pair has the last laugh, bringing home the victory in the golden hour.

Ferrer ends Nadal's bid for 'Rafa Slam'

MELBOURNE: David Ferrer dumped injury-hit Rafael Nadal out of the Australian Open in straight sets today, ending the world number one's bid for a historic sweep of the Grand Slam titles. The grimacing Nadal was in trouble right from the 18-minute second game, but despite repeated medical attention and a strapped left thigh he grimly battled to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 quarter-final defeat.

In pic: Under pressure ... Rafael Nadal during a break in his straight-sets loss to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in Melbourne last night. Photo: AFP

Nadal's shock loss comes on the exact anniversary of last year's injury pull-out in the quarter-finals against Andy Murray, which also came on Australia Day as celebratory fireworks lit up the Melbourne night sky. The demise of Nadal, 24, halts his quest for the "Rafa Slam", a non-calendar year Grand Slam which would have united the four major titles for the first time since Rod Laver in 1969. "It's not easy because Rafael is a gentleman and he was playing injured and we are friends," Ferrer said. "He was injured in the first set but I played my game, I fight a lot and sometimes it's not easy."

Nadal stands at nine Grand Slam titles and is the youngest man to win all four of the big tournaments. However, another injury setback will revive doubts about his longevity in the game. Spain's Ferrer will face Andy Murray in Friday's semi-final after the British fifth seed outgunned rising star Alexandr Dolgopolov. Ferrer has a 3-2 winning record against Murray but has never beaten him on hardcourt.

Murray, last year's runner-up to Roger Federer, dropped his first set of the year against Ukrainian shot-maker Dolgopolov, 22, who dominated a third-set tie-break before going down 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3. "It was very tough and every point was different, he hits the ball different to a lot of other players and I struggled a little bit with my rhythm early on," Murray said. "He came back at me well in the third set but I thought I did well enough."

Murray, 23, is now into his fifth Grand Slam semi-final as he bids to break a British men's major drought stretching back to Fred Perry's 1936 US Open win. Earlier three-time Grand Slam-winner Kim Clijsters beat Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to set up a heavyweight semi-final with world number two Vera Zvonareva, who downed Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-4.

Zvonareva wore a black ribbon on her cap to support victims of Monday's deadly suicide bombing at Domodedovo airport in Moscow, her home city, which killed 35 and left her frantically calling relatives. "You're calling back home and making sure everyone is okay, the people that you know," she said. "I just tried to put it away. It happened, it is terrible. But you try to move on."

The 26-year-old remains on course for her third straight Grand Slam final, after losing to Serena Williams at Wimbledon and Clijsters at the US Open in September. Clijsters overcame a high error-rate to see off Radwanska, who played a limited game but stayed in the match with some scrambling defence, taking advantage of the Belgian's 37 unforced errors. "Everything has to be better (against Zvonareva)," said Clijsters, who beat the Russian in September's US Open final.

"I mean, serving, returning, the unforced errors. Everything has to be better." World number one Caroline Wozniacki will face China's Li Na in tomorrow's other semi-final, while defending champion Federer plays third seed Novak Djokovic in a mouth-watering men's last-four match-up. -AFP

Australian Open: Bopanna loses in first round of mixed doubles

MELBOURNE: India's Rohan Bopanna and China's Zi Yan lost to third seeds Maria Kirilenko of Russia and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 6-7 (3), 6-3 in the first round of mixed doubles at the Australian Open on Sunday.

The other two Indians Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi made it to the second round of the mixed doubles with their respective partners on Saturday.

Bhupathi and Australian Anastasia Rodionova defeated German Andrea Petkovic and Mariusz Fyrstenberg of Poland 6-2, 6-2. They will now face Sara Errani of Italy and David Marrero of Spain.

Paes and Cara Black of Zimbabwe came through a tough match against Alisa Kleybanova of Russia and Max Mirnyi of Belarus 7-6 (2), 4-6, 12-10. They will take on Chinese Taipei's Chan Yung-Jan and Australian Paul Hanley in the second round. -IANS

Clijsters, Murray into Open's last 16

MELBOURNE: Favourite Kim Clijsters subdued a battling Alize Cornet to reach the Australian Open's last 16 today, as Andy Murray and Robin Soderling remained in impeccable form. As women's second seed Vera Zvonareva also progressed, Clijsters was made to work by the awkward Cornet, who fought hard on her 21st birthday but could not prevent the Belgian's 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win.



US Open champion Clijsters has a chance to return to world number one, two years after her long break to have a baby, if she wins here and top seed Caroline Wozniacki falls before the semis. "I know (Cornet) didn't get the result she wanted, but it's not a bad place to celebrate your birthday out here on the Rod Laver Arena," Clijsters said.

"I hope she enjoyed it. Both Soderling and Murray, the world number four and five, made it into the second week without dropping a set as they steamed towards a possible quarter-final showdown. Murray, last year's beaten finalist, dismissed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, as he seeks Britain's first Grand Slam title in 75 years.

Murray, 23, will play either 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis or Jurgen Melzer in the next round and may then face a date with in-form Swede Soderling, who cruised through 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 against Jan Hernych. "I have played well in the first three matches and it's tough to concentrate in this heat. It was a lot harder than the scoreline suggests," Murray said.

Soderling, who is receiving texts and phone calls from Bjorn Borg, is now eyeing his fourth successive Grand Slam quarter-final. He will next play Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, who beat 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Milos Raonic, the 20-year-old Canadian with the thunderous serve, shocked 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny to reach the fourth round on debut, and register his first win against a top-10 player.

Montenegro-born Raonic, whose 230 kilometres (143 miles) screamer against Michael Llodra was the tournament's fastest serve, beat Russia's Youzhny 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. Spain's David Ferrer also beat Lithuanian Richard Berankis, 20.

Meanwhile, Russia's Zvonareva, who could also finish this tournament as world number one, survived a Lucie Safarova fightback to stay on course for her third successive Grand Slam final. Zvonareva looked set for an easy win until she tightened up and needed two match points in a tense tie-break before going through 6-3, 7-6 (11/9) thanks to a forehand error from the Czech. "Today I had my chances and didn't use them, and then we had to go into this long second set," Zvonareva said.

"That's something that I will definitely have to improve for the next matches." China's Peng Shuai beat Japan's Ayumi Morita to join compatriot Li Na in the fourth round, stoking hopes they can match Li and Zheng Jie's run to last year's semis. Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska also beat Romanian Simona Halep.

Men's top seed Rafael Nadal will play Australian teen Bernard Tomic later as he continues his quest for the "Rafa Slam" which would unite all four Grand Slam titles for the first time since 1969. Nadal won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year after retiring hurt from his Australian Open quarter-final against Andy Murray with a knee injury. -AFP

Paes-Bhupathi in third round

MELBOURNE: Indian tennis duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi registered a straight set victory over Argentina's Juan Monaco and Feliciano Lopez of Spain 7-6 (2) 6-4 to advance to the third round of the Australian Open men's doubles event, here today.

In pic: Feliciano Lopez accused Leander Paes (in pic) of trying to provoke him and his partner Juan Monaco during their second round match at the Australian Open @ PTI

Paes and Bhupathi, who rallied from one set down to beat Ivo Karlovic and Dusan Vemica in their first round match here a couple of days back, came up with a much improved performance today. The "Indian Express" duo could successfully put 76 per cent of their first serves in and looked in really good shape as they managed to get the better of their opponents in little over one and a half hours.

Although, the Indian doubles specialists faced a stiff challenge from Monaco and Lopez in the first set but the pair of Lee-Hesh brought into fore all their experiences to finally prevail over them with a tight 7-6 win. In the second set, however, the third-seeded Indians did not have much trouble as the two comfortably outplayed their unseeded Spanish-Argentine pair to steal the set 6-4 and put themselves on course for their maiden Australian Open title.

Paes and Bhupathi will next face the Spanish duo of Tommy Robredo and Marcel Granollers in the third round. -PTI

Australian Open: Paes-Bhupathi, Bopanna-Qureshi enter men's doubles 2nd round

MELBOURNE: Indian tennis duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi entered the second round of the men's doubles in Australian Open after they rallied from a set down to beat Ivo Karlovic and Dusan Vemica 5-7 6-3 6-0, here today.
In pic: Leander Paes (l) and Mahesh Bhupati

In another match, India's Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi outplayed the Brazilian pair of Franco Ferreiro and Andre Sa 6-3 6-0 to advance to the next round. For the "Indian Express" duo of Paes and Bhupathi, this is their first victory together at Grand Slam after a nine- year gap.

The third-seeded pair, who teamed up together after almost a decade in a bid to add the only Grand Slam title missing in their cupboard, faced a scare in the first set of the opening round as they went down 5-7.

However, the Indian doubles specialists did not waste much time to get into the groove in the second, running away to a 6-3 win. The last set saw Lee-Hesh toying with the Croat-Serbian pair before they wrapped it up 6-0 to cross the first hurdle at the year's first Grand Slam, in a contest that lasted over one and a half hours. Paes and Bhupathi had last played in a Grand Slam in Australian Open 2002. And in all these years till 2011 they just paired together to represent the country in the Davis Cup, the Asian Games and the Olympics.

Paes-Bhupathi will meet the winner of the match between Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Juan Monaco of Argentina and the Australian pair of Marinko Matosevic and John Millman in the second round. Meanwhile, "Indo-Pak Express", the runners-up of last year's U S Open, had a very easy outing today.

The 10th-seeded pair hardly spared a chance for its unseeded opponents to pose any threat, as they breezed away to seal the match in their favour in just 49 minutes. Bopanna-Qureshi will next play Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Arnaud Clement. -PTI

Nadal breezes into 3rd round at Australia Open

MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 23 matches, continuing his pursuit of a "Rafa Slam" with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 win over American qualifier Ryan Sweeting to reach the third round of the Australian Open. The top-ranked Nadal is aiming to be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.

In pic: Rafael Nadal

He's conceded only four games en route to the third round, sealing his win over Sweeting today with another of his rifling forehands. After retiring with an injury in the quarterfinals at the last Australian Open, Nadal rebounded to win the French, Wimbledon and U S Open.

Nadal hit some shots that Sweeting could barely believe, including an ace to finish the first set and forehand on set point in the second when the Spaniard's curling shot caught the baseline for the winner. Sweeting challenged the call as he walked off, but the call stood.

The only hint of anything other than complete domination for Nadal came in the third set, when Sweeting broke serve in the fifth game and then had game points to bring it back to 4-2 in a game that to deuce five times. Again, Nadal held on to convert a break and served out in the next game. "I feel good. Today the serve started to work much better," Nadal said.

"Only one (bad) moment, when the sun came in my eyes," Nadal said. "It was a positive victory for me, an important victory." All the coverage of his "Rafa Slam" had no influence on Nadal's mindset. "No, for sure, it's not a distraction," he said. "It's the last thing I'm thinking about right now. I'm trying to find my best level."

Kim Clijsters showed why she's fast becoming a hot favorite for the women's title by beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3. U S Open champion Clijsters opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over former No 1-ranked Dinara Safina, but Suarez Navarro was a potentially dangerous second-round matchup.

The 22-year-old Spaniard beat Venus Williams in a second-round upset in her first trip to Melbourne Park two years ago. "She is a tough player. She's tricky. The balls bounce so much different than for my first round," Clijsters said. "I was just happy with the way that I played. I tried to play both sides of the court, tried to be aggressive and dictate the points. And it worked."

With defending champion Serena Williams not playing in Australia due to a prolonged foot problem, third-seeded Clijsters is hopeful of going one better than her previous best performance at Melbourne Park -- she lost the 2004 final. Her third-round 6-0, 6-1 loss here to Nadia Petrova last year was her worst in a major.

It's a defeat she claims she doesn't dwell on and doesn't think will influence her preparations for the same stage this weekend. "I don't think I've ever played a match like that. So it was very easy in a way to also forget about it, as well," Clijsters said.

Joining her in the third round from the bottom half of the draw were No 10 Shahar Peer, who beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-2 and No 22 Flavia Pennetta, who beat Lourdes Dominguez 6-2, 6-2. Seventh-seeded Jelena Jankovic lost 7-6 (3), 6-3 to China's Peng Shuai, continuing an unimpressive streak of seven losses in eight matches.

It was former world No 1 Jankovic's worst result at a major since the 2009 U S Open. Meanwhile, Clijsters has spent just two hours on court so far, leaving plenty of time to joke with the crowd and take a little swipe at on-court interviewer Todd Woodbridge, a former Australian doubles great.

She lightheartedly chided Woodbridge about a text message he'd sent to fellow Australian Rennae Stubbs, suggesting Clijsters was showing physical and emotional signs of being pregnant. "No, I'm not!" said Clijsters, who took time off the tour when she married and had a child -- daughter Jada, born in February 2008 -- before returning to win the U S Open in 2009.

While Clijsters and Nadal have advanced with ease, Venus Williams and defending men's champion Roger Federer have encountered challenges. Williams injured a muscle between her stomach and groin yesterday as she twisted for a volley. She needed a medical timeout after losing the first set. She was on the verge of tears, and apparently elimination. But she refused to stop playing and eventually beat Sandra Zahlavova of the Czech Republic 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-4.

Federer faced a more familiar problem -- Gilles Simon. He's one of only three men on tour with a winning record against the Swiss great. The 16-time Grand Slam champion admitted he was "happy I survived a scare." Nadal, one of the other men who have a winning record against 16-time Grand Slam winner Federer, watched the match on TV. "It was fantastic tennis. Simon had an amazing comeback. In the fifth set, Federer played unbelievably well in important moments." -AP

Sania's campaign ends in Australian Open

MELBOURNE: Sania Mirza's campaign in the Australian Open ended today after she and her Czech partner Renata Voracova crashed out of the women's doubles event, losing in straight sets to top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta in the opening round here.

Argentina's Dulko, who is the World No 1 doubles players and her World No 2 Italian partner Pennetta, outplayed the Indo-Czech duo in 6-4 6-1 in a contest that last just over an hour. The 24-year-old Sania, who also lost in the opening round of the women's singles event on Monday, and Voracova fought hard in the first set before losing it 4-6.

The second set, however, turned out to be a dampener as the Indo-Czech pair could hardly match their fancied opponents. Sania, who won the mixed doubles title here with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009, which also is her only Grand Slam triumph, is not taking part in the event this time around. -PTI

Somdev, Sania's ouster end India's Aus Open singles campaign

MELBOURNE: India's campaign in both men's and women's singles event in the Australian Open ended on a sour note with Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza going down fighting in their respective first round matches here today. While, Somdev went down fighting to Tommy Robredo of Spain in straight sets 6-7(4) 3-6 4-6, Sania managed to bag a set before losing 7-5 3-6 1-6 to former World No 1 and winner of seven Grand Slams Justine Henin-Hardenneof Belgium.

In pic: Sania Mirza lost Australian Open Singles first round

Somdev, who was handed a wildcard after his impressive performance last year, posed some threat to the world no 52 Robredo, who was once ranked as high as number 5, but eventually failed to sustain in a contest that lasted two hours and 37 minutes. On the other hand, the 24-year-old Sania, who booked a berth in the women's singles main draw of the Australian Open only after going through a tough qualifying route, gave Henin a run for her money. Henin had to draw all her trademark fighting spirit to avoid a disastrous first-round departure from the mega-event.

Sania, during her seventh straight Australian Open appearance, came up with some winners and looked almost set to cause an upset. Having won the first set that lasted an hour, Sania raised hopes of an improbable Indian win but she failed to make any impact in the remaining two sets, allowing 11th-seeded Belgian to come back right into the game and finally steal the match in a little over two hours.

Sania, though hardly had any real chance of registering a win in the first round, after being drawn against a tough opponent in Henin, who on her part is also making a comeback after missing the US Open because to an elbow injury suffered at the Wimbledon last year. Sania, who once reached as high as 27th in WTA rankings, has slipped to 145 because to a recurring wrist injury last season.

Sania's best singles performance at the Australian Open has been third round appearances in 2005 and 2008. She had won the mixed doubles title with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009, which is her only Grand Slam title. Earlier, the gutsy 25-year-old Somdev, who was making his debut in the Australian Open, tested Robredo in the first set, but the Spaniard then brought all his experience to fore to ultimately prevail with a 7-6 win.

Robredo, however, did not have much difficulty in the next two sets. Somdev could not break his first round jinx this year as he had lost in the opening round of the Aircel Chennai Open also. -PTI