Ana Ivanovic comfortably beat world No.215 Urszula Radwanska 6-3, 6-1, while Jelena Jankovic overcome the elder and much higher ranked Radwanska sister, Agnieszka, in three sets 6-4 6-7 7-5. These two victories in singles gave Serbia a 2-0 lead and hence victory over Poland in Fed Cup.

In an interview after her win, Ivanovic was asked whether she would play doubles with Jankovic at the Olympics. Ivanovic said that she would like to, and that the two of them would be likely to win the trophy. However, her coaches want her to focus on singles and their attitude probably won’t change. Still, she wouldn’t completely dismiss the idea. (photo via WTA World)

Jelena Jankovic is known for being spontaneous, and so are her statements. This time she was concerned for her health, as she had to take too many painkillers to continue her semifinal match at the Australian Open, and related her situation to Heath Ledger's death.

Here’s Jankovic’s clumsy attempt to explain her injury woes:

"Yeah, I was in pain. I took so many painkillers. I was telling the doctor . . . I'm going to overdose, and I want to live."

"As you know, it was a sad story that Heath Ledger died and he took so many things, so I was like saying to the doctor, 'Please don't let me take so many'.

"I still, I am only 22. I want to live." (via Herald Sun)

You know how shocked I was when I read that Nicole Vaidisova and Radek Stepanek, Martina Hingis’ ex-fiancé, were about to marry. Well, it proved to be just a rumor, to many people’s relief. However, they are dating.

Here are some pics of the couple. We’ve been waiting for a long time to actually see Nicole and Radek together.

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Defending champions Russia, with Maria Sharapova in the team (finally!), arrived in Israel for a press conference ahead of their Fed Cup tie versus the host country's team.

Australian Open champ Maria Sharapova, Anna Chakvetadze, Dinara Safina and Elena Vesnina play for Russia. World No. 17 Shahar Peer will lead the Israeli team this weekend, which also includes Tzipi Obziler, Keren Shlomo, and Julia Glushko. (via Down the Line)

Two fresh Australian Open champions, Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic, have a lot in common, according to Novak.

The third-ranked ATP player talked to the press at Melbourne Park the day after winning his maiden Grand Slam saying,

"I think she’s a very strong female, [...] She is mentally very strong and is a very strong personality. She doesn’t allow anybody to fool with her, and she shows it every time on the court. She already has three Grand Slams. That proves everything. We are kind of on the same line in life. We’ve been through difficult things in our career, and we appreciate success much more, even though we are still young."

BTW, do you remember that Sharapova was sitting in Djokovic's box at the 2007 US Open, and soon after they were partying together in New York? I have to notice that these two young, intelligent, successful, and rich tennis players would surely make a great couple! But for now, they're just friends. (via Down the Line)

May be strange but the best point of the recently finished Australian Open happened in the first round, and on the first day. It was in the match between third seed Jelena Jankovic and rising star Tamira Paszek, on Paszek's first match point, in the third set at 5-4. During the point, there were at least three occasions when I though it was over for Jankovic. But, she defended so well and stayed in the match eventually winning 2-6 6-2 12-10.

Jankovic could have lost in the first round, but her fighting and extreme determination won the match, and in the end she turned out to be the semifinalist, beating even defending champion Serena Williams in the quarters!

Maria Sharapova's father Yuri is well-known, but her mother Yelena has stayed somewhat mysterious. Yelena doesn’t attend her daughter’s matches any more, and many people wonder what she looks like and what the relationship between her and Maria is. I revealed part of the secret of Maria's mother last month, when I included a Christmas photo of the two of them together. However, in an interview after the Australian Open semifinal against Jelena Jankovic, Maria, who soon after became the tournament champion, explained the role of her mother in her life.

Q. Your father's very visible. How would you say your mother contributes in a positive way to your career? Read more »

Impressive Maria Sharapova defeated Ana Ivanovic in the final of the 2008 Australian Open, or as some people called it a "glam slam" decider, referring to the glamor and beauty of the two young tennis stars. The trophy ceremony was very emotional for both Maria and Ana, and I'm sure for many fans all around the world.

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Russia’s Maria Sharapova won her third career Grand Slam title with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Serbia's Ana Ivanovic at the 2008 Australian Open.

Last year, Sharapova won only three games in the Australian Open final against Serena Williams, but this year she was simply unstoppable. During the whole tournament at Melbourne Park fifth-seeded Sharapova hasn't dropped a set, and I believe that in the final there was nothing Ivanovic could have done to win the match, if she had taken her chances, she could have only made it longer. Read more »

Unseeded Ukrainian sisters Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko won the Australian Open women’s doubles title beating 12th seeds Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Israeli Shahar Peer 2-6 6-1 6-4.

It was the first time the Bondarenko sisters had won a doubles title in their 38th tournament playing together. Alona Bondarenko believes that the key to success may be the fact that they stopped fighting on the court, and started listening to each other.

Their previous best was reaching three semifinals in WTA Tour events.

Reminder: In singles Alona was seeded 21st and lost to Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in the second round, while unseeded Kateryna lost in the first round to France’s Aravane Rezai. (source: Reuters, photo via Yahoo)