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by Prip Day two held more interesting match-ups for tennis fans and regulars at the Australian Open. The first double-bagel of the tournament came with Silvija Talaja taking out Alicia Molik 6-0 6-0. The big surprise of the day came when Venus Williams was stretched to three sets by Maria Jose Martinez of Spain. The Spanish lefty, coming off a huge battle in the final qualifying round, played very consistent tennis after the first set, and managed to draw the errors off Venus. Perhaps struggling a lot more than she should have with her outfit, Venus fell right into the trap, losing the second set 6-2 before snapping out of the daze and finishing off the third set 6-0. Sister Serena had no such problems, shutting out Janet Lee 6-1 6-4. All the seeds moved through easily, leaving Chanda Rubin the only seed to fall on the first hurdle. The only thing close to becoming an upset was when Mary Pierce went down 0-3 in the second set against Sylvia Plischke before getting a sudden adrenaline rush and taking the last 6 games in a row. Unseeded Amelie Mauresmo also moved through with a handy 6-3 6-3 win over Ai Sugiyama. "Player to Watch" Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues cruised to a 7-5 6-0 win over Jennifer Hopkins in her first Grand Slam tournament. Meanwhile, Jelena Kostanic stumbled against qualifier Andrea Glass, in a match where the hordes of Croatian supporters managed to do more harm than good. Rowdy and raucous throughout the match, they were actually told to "shut up" by the youngster, who had enough problems concentrating by herself. Andrea Glass managed to keep her cool despite her quick temper, and ended up taking the match 7-6(3) 6-4. Second "Player to Watch" Elena Bovina turned in a disappointing performance against Nadejda Petrova. Watched by most of the Russian players who were scattered in the stands, including Larisa Savchenko-Neiland, who has been keeping an eye on the youngster but was firmly in Nadejda's corner for this match. Playing very erratic tennis, Elena held the match in her hands, but blew it 7-5 6-3. No surprises either on the men's side, all 8 seeds getting through comfortably. Magnus Norman played very lackadaisical tennis, still trying to find his game, and had to fight to get back in the match before closing it out in four sets against Stephane Huet. Gustavo Kuerten, looking to break his terrible record here in Melbourne, took a while to settle down, but eventually got his head on straight and never looked back from there, defeating Gaston Gaudio in four. Suffering from the extreme time difference, the charismatic Brazilian said it best, "I have to play when I want to sleep, and I want to play when I have to sleep." Hopefully Guga will be scheduled for a night match before the week is over. The much-anticipated match of Carlos Moya vs. Marcelo Rios failed to deliver, as Rios was simply outplayed by the Spaniard. Despite holding a winning record against Carlos, Marcelo simply could not get into the match, and hardly put up a challenge. On the outside courts, youngster Guillermo Coria came through against Fernando Gonzales despite having to receive treatment for his foot. Old man of the tour Gianluca Pozzi also came through, taking out qualifier Alex O'Brien after a slow start. While Martina Hingis totally blitzed Hungarian Katalin Marosi-Aracama in 38 minutes, the late men's match proved the most entertaining of the tournament so far. Two players playing at peak performances, meeting only days after a close encounter in Sydney, Lleyton Hewitt and Jonas Bjorkman thrilled the freezing crowd with a tense 5-setter filled with thrilling rallies and inspiring shots. The seventh seed prevailed, and ended up taking the match 7-5 4-6 2-6 6-3 6-2. Waiting for him in the next round is another tough opponent, Tommy Haas. |