Kristie Boogert, who had taken out the first seed of the tournament, featured in the first match of the day on my list, taking on Asa Carlsson of Sweden. Kristie used the same flat-out hitting style she had used on Anke Huber, but Asa bided her time instead of trying to counter the shots with a winner. The tactic worked, and Asa, struggling a little to get going in the first set as usual, managed to pull through the first set 7-5. It should be noted that there was the usual large group of Swedish supporters cheering for Asa after points and serenading her with short chants or tunes during changeovers.

Asa continued to handle Kristie's game well in the second set, and played a rather efficient game, alternating between playing aggressively and letting her opponent make the mistake. Kristie was having trouble keeping her shots in, and was being made to play a great deal more than she was in her previous match. Asa moved on to the third round with an easy 7-5 6-4 victory.

There was a nice lighthearted moment at the end of the match. Asa had shaken hands with Kristie at the net as well as with the umpire, and was taking a moment to catch her breath and take a sip of water. The Swedish fans were chanting and clapping their hands in a sort of victory celebration. Suddenly, Asa stood up and started a little dance in time to their chants. That got some claps as well as a few appreciative laughs from the leaving crowd, and a huge roar from the Swedish group. As Asa went on to sign autographs for the fans waiting at the gate behind the umpire's chair, the Swedish fans all stood up and started to sing the Swedish anthem.

Day Three gave me a chance to get a look at Fabiola Zuluaga, who's been making a move up the rankings lately. She would be Julie Halard-Decugis' second rising player of the tournament. This being the first time I'd seen anything of the Colombian, I can't say if she was off her game or simply outclassed by Julie. The Colombian couldn't match the steadiness shown by Julie, and it's in matches like these that you really see the difference between the top players and the rest of the field. The match was as straightforward as any can get, and Julie had little trouble getting her second-round match over and done with. I left after Julie took the first set 6-3, and apparently the second set (also 6-3) wasn't much different.

I went to Show Court 3 to see how Mary Pierce was doing in Melbourne this year. Mary's record here at the Aussie Open is well known, and is very popular with the people here. She was well into her match against Amelie Cochetuex, and was having little trouble asserting her position in the tournament. By the time I actually got into the stands (I had such luck to reach one of the entrances to the court just as the players took to the court after a changeover, so I had to wait two whole games, one of which went to deuce and swung to and fro several times), Mary was up a break in the second set, and wasn't being challenged by Amelie at all. She finished off her match 6-2 6-2, taking her one step closer to equaling her performance here 51 weeks ago.

Feeling a little silly for having waited so long for so little, I was glad to see that the two top seeds in the qualifying draw, Katalin Marosi and Tathiana Garbin, were up for doubles action against one of my favourite doubles teams, the thirteenth seeds, Katarina Srebotnik and Tina Krizan. Both Slovenians have been having a tough time, and this tournament was no different. Tina's ranking relegated her to the qualifying rounds, where she lost her first match against Wynne Prakusya in three sets. Katarina is still ranked high enough to get into the main draw, but had as much success in her match as her best friend, compatriot and regular doubles partner.

Garbin/Marosi won the toss, and elected to serve first. There was little surprise that Garbin would serve first for her team, as she has a cracking serve despite not being especially tall at a shade below 5'8". Tathiana served well to open the match, and gave her team the first game of the first set.

Katarina and Tina had trouble right from the start. Poor serving and a number of unforced errors contributed to an early break in the first set. Garbin and Marosi didn't let up on the pace, though, and carried on their aggressive play. With Katalin up to serve, they opted to play in the "I" formation, and with Tathiana's reflexes and quick feet, had good success to go up 3-0 in the first set. Katarina polished up her game a little, and made a conscious effort to cut down on her unforced errors. With her up to serve and Tina getting some decent serves in, they finally managed to get their first game of the match. The underdogs held on to their break of serve and took the first set 6-3.

Katarina Srebotnik and Tina Krizan continued their efforts to get back into the match. This time, they had a better chance, starting even in the second set. Both teams played well, making good plays, and Katarina looked a lot more her usual self than she did in her singles match the previous day. While Katarina reduced the number of unforced errors coming off her racquet, Tina, who had done well to keep the team afloat earlier in the game, was starting to make some silly errors. A similar situation was on with Tathiana and Katalin. While Tathiana had been the anchor of the team in the early parts of the match, she was starting to get impatient and was making some bad decisions on her returns. Katalin, on the other hand, had started her match totally cold, but was now playing steadily and keeping her team in it.

The second set was taken all the way to 5-all, and both teams were feeling the pressure. Tathiana finally stopped going for the service return winners, and actually got her returns in, coming in to net behind them, forcing her opponents to come up with the goods. There were a few exciting points where all four players were up at net, and these were pretty much evenly split between the teams. Less reckless play from Tathiana and increased consistency from Katalin proved a little too much for Katarina and Tina, and the seeded pair lost their serve. They tried to break back in the next game, but fell just short, and suffered another first-round loss. The Slovenians walked back to their chair dejectedly, knowing that they had absolutely no reason, on paper, to lose that match. After sitting down for a while, they packed up their bags and left the court.

Tathiana Garbin and Katalin Marosi took a little longer to come off court, savoring their victory. When she finally came off court, Tathiana celebrated her win with an older woman who had been waiting for her, and got rid of her extra energy by jumping around, giggling in delight. The celebration was well deserved, and she managed to extend her stay in the Aussie Open 2000.

Olga Barabanschikova was halfway through her doubles match with Lilia Osterloh against the latest Aussie sensation, Alicia Molik, and Nathalie Dechy, who had had her best year on tour yet. The Russian Kournikova fans were in the stands, and were chanting some phrases they'd probably learned specifically for the tournament. Olga was, as usual, having a great time on court, and every time the group chanted a new phrase, she'd explain what it meant to her partner. Finding Olga a lot friendlier than probably expected, the group of guys had something to say to her during every changeover, and Olga would reply with a smile.

On court, Olga was doing reasonably well to keep her end up, but Lilia was finding herself about a step behind everyone else. Olga tried to make up by going for some risky shots, but she had no chance against a team like Dechy/Molik. The end scoreline was rather brutal, a 6-2 6-0 win for the Australian-French pairing. Next up for them would be Garbin-Marosi.

With another quick match over, I was glad I could catch the top seeds in the women's doubles draw -- Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs -- in action against Silvija Talaja and Louise Pleming. Surprisingly, Silvija and Louise had actually taken the first set 6-4, and were actually looking a little surprised that they had a chance to take the match in straight sets. They got another break in the second set, and Silvija went up to serve at 5-4. Rennae was having another hard time on court, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Lisa at that time.

Lisa might have been feeling out of sorts, as she made several mental errors, getting her team in trouble, and Rennae's expression wasn't helping her at all. The two, so familiar with each other's games, barely had a word or two between points, whether won or lost. Rennae had a black cloud over her head as a string of mistakes from Lisa had lead to their Croatian opponent serving for the match.

Lisa finally managed to get herself together, and the two played like the top seeds that they were. They broke Silvija's serve after a tense moment, keeping their hopes alive. In fact, they carried their newfound form on to take the next two games as well, evening the match up at 1 set all. Silvija and Louise looked disappointed that they had let opportunity slip away just like that, and prepared for a set more than they had expected.

Both teams managed to hold serve to open the set. By this time, several line calls had gone against the top seeds, and Rennae looked like she was ready to explode. She had already voiced her discontentment with the umpire, who looked like he had a little trouble with the English language. Another line call nearly jeopardized her team's service game, and that was pretty much the straw that broke the camel's back. Having saved their service game, Rennae took the umpire up during the next changeover. The language she used against the umpire is nowhere near repeatable unless this report is rated PG, and while Rennae was getting herself in trouble and on the way to a second warning, Lisa was sitting down, repeatedly telling Rennae to sit down. Her stern warning to Rennae to sit down went unheard, though, as Rennae continued to make the umpire's life hell, and she was forced to actually nearly yell at Rennae to sit down. When the umpire slapped Rennae with her second warning, Rennae very grudgingly sat down, and Lisa either chided her for her lack of control, or tried to calm her down. Either way, she got a very curt "Shut up" from the Australian. The people sitting near me had probably never seen Rennae on court before, and were talking among themselves. The general consensus was that it was a miracle that anyone would ever want to partner Rennae. Ah well, what life without a little excitement?

I found it pretty hilarious, the situation between Lisa and Rennae. I wasn't sure I had heard right during Rennae's second-qualifying-round match, but after this episode, it's become pretty believable. As I had mentioned, Lisa was constantly supporting Rennae during her tough loss in the qualies, and towards the later part of the third set, after nearly a match's worth of steaming and stewing, Rennae remarked rather loudly, "quiet over there." It was pretty obvious that she was referring to Lisa, as besides me, there were perhaps 5 or 6 other people in the stands, and they were all sitting very, very quietly at the other side of the stands. Anyway, Silvija and Louise could only shake their heads and wait while the drama unfolded on court.

Anyway, after releasing most of her frustrations on the umpire, Rennae and Lisa stormed back in the third set, taking the last 5 games in a row to move into the second round. This signaled the end of the tournament for Silvija Talaja, who was probably still dazed that she'd find herself having an extra week and a half off her busy 2000 schedule after having finally earning her first title. Silvija's a great person anyway, and in spite of being terribly disappointed, never has a long face after a loss.

That entertaining match concluded the matches on the outside courts for me, and I went off to grab a quick bite to eat, anticipating an exciting match between Jennifer Capriati and Dominique Van Roost on center court.