Sensational Jelena Dokic upsets Caroline Wozniacki in round three of Australian Open

Jelena Dokic at 2009 Australian OpenComeback player Jelena Dokic of Australia, ranked 187th in the world, continued her impressive run at the 2009 Australian Open with a 3-6 6-1 6-2 victory over No.11 seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Previously at the tournament Dokic had defeated Tamira Paszek and Anna Chakvetadze, but I was skeptical she would be strong enough to go past the young star Wozniacki too, who made her Australian Open debut last year and then reached the fourth round already.

The lead that Wozniacki established after breaking Dokic in the fourth game of the first set was crucial and gave the young Dane the victory in the first set. As Dokic had as much as six break points in the first set and converted none of them, I was afraid her maximum at this year’s Australian Open had already been reached. But no! The 25-year-old Dokic spectacularly won the next two sets, and booked herself a place in the fourth round. Amazing!

It seemed like the 18-year-old Dane was a bit intimidated by all the story behind the former world No.4 Dokic, the lowest ranked player left in the draw, especially because they had never met before.

The Wimbledon semifinalist Dokic has today made her best result at the Australian Open. In 1999 she reached the third round.

Dokic will next face either fifth seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia or No.29 seed Alisa Kleybanova of Russia, who are currently playing the third set. Warning: If you are a big Ana fan, don't watch that match, you might get a heart attack. (photo: Getty Images)

Dinara Safina eases past Kaia Kanepi at Australian Open

Dinara Safina at the 2009 Australian OpenThird seed Dinara Safina had no trouble defeating seed No.25 Kaia Kanepi 6-2 6-2.

The Russian advanced to the fourth round of the 2009 Australian Open, breaking the Estonian two times in both sets, and losing none of her own service games.

Safina will next play the winner of the Daniela Hantuchova vs. Alize Cornet match.

Also advancing to the fourth round was tenth seed Nadia Petrova. Her opponent Galina Voskoboeva retired after the first set. (photo: Getty Images)

Video overview of WTA players’ Australian Open 2009 outfits

Waiting for the fifth day of the 2009 Australian Open to start, I had some fun making a video which shows what kind of outfits women’s tennis players have been wearing this fortnight. To make the video more interesting, I added some comments to the slides.

My favorites: Well, it may be shocking, but I would go for Ana Ivanovic’s purple adidas dress. I absolutely love the color, and I think Ana looks beautiful in it. And even though Ana wore it last year too, I’m not even beginning to get bored with it, which is a great sign.

As you probably know, I’m a great fan of Stella McCartney’s outfits, and beautiful Maria Kirilenko wore a gorgeous one at the Australian Open, but how can I count her when she lost in the first round of singles already. We barely got the chance to see the dress.

Venus Williams sported refreshing colors, a bright yellow dress with pink shorts underneath. Great! However, I’m too tired of the design, I think you understand.

Venus Williams upset in Australian Open second round, Serena through

Venus Williams at the 2009 Australian OpenOne of the favorites for the title, sixth seed Venus Williams, lost as early as in the second round of the Australian Open, being beaten by world No.46 Carla Suarez Navarro.

The Spaniard saved a match point before beating Williams 2-6 6-3 7-5, who is yet to add an Australian Open trophy to her collection of Grand Slam titles. Suarez Navarro is playing only her fourth Grand Slam event, but she already has one notable results, the quarterfinals at last year’s French Open.

Venus started the third set strong, taking a 4-1 lead, but Suarez Navarro dragged herself back into it and saved herself on match point at 5-5. She then broke the next game and served out for a famous victory.

Serena Williams at the 2009 Australian OpenSecond seed Serena Williams was extremely close to losing the second set, but the three-time Australian Open champion eventually defeated Argentine Gisela Dulko in straight sets 6-3 7-5.

Dulko wasted six set points and saved five break points before Serena won the game, then held her own serve to even the set at 5-5. Serena then broke again, after another long game featuring six deuces, before holding her serve to win the match with an ace.

Although Dulko was having a 5-2 lead in the second set, and although she had those six set points, Serena was calm, as if she had known she was going to win. Serena confirmed my impression by saying: "She had a couple of opportunities but I always felt I wasn't going to lose."

Except for Venus Williams and seed No.14 Patty Schnyder, all the seeds were victorious on day 4. (via BBC, photos: Getty Images)

Amelie Mauresmo moves into third round of Australian Open

Amelie MauresmoSeed No.20 Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated world No.134 Elena Baltacha 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the second-round match full of unforced errors.

The Australian Open champion Mauresmo started off well, breaking Baltacha in the third game. But Baltacha then won four games in a row for a 5-2 lead. However, serving for the set at 5-3, Baltacha got nervous and Mauresmo broke her serve. Still, the Briton eventually won the first set 6-4.

In the second set Mauresmo broke Baltacha at the very beginning, and despite many ups and downs of both players during the set, that initial break kept Mauresmo’s hopes of advancing alive, as it took the match to a deciding set.

In the third set Baltacha broke Mauresmo in the first game, and had a 2-0 lead, but since then the Frenchwoman won all the games and secured her spot in the third round of the Australian Open.

Other notable results so far on day 4:

Fourth seed Elena Dementieva advanced to the third round beating Iveta Benesova 6-4 6-1, seed No.18 Dominika Cibulkova crushed Yung-Jan Chan 6-0 6-2, while No.14 seed Patty Schnyder lost to Virginie Razzano 6-3 6-1. Victoria Azarenka, seeded 13th, advanced when her opponent Tathiana Garbin retired.  Kateryna Bondarenko, whose upset of Agnieszka Radwanska in the first round has remained the biggest by now, made one more step further by reaching the third round. (photo: Stephane Martinache)

Who can be WTA No.1 after the Australian Open?

Jelena JankovicSerena WilliamsDinara SafinaElena Dementieva

Four WTA players have a chance of being ranked No.1 after the 2009 Australian Open.

Current No.1 and top seed at the Australian Open, Jelena Jankovic, is defending 900 points, having reached the semifinals last year. World No.2 Serena Williams reached the quarterfinals in 2008, and is hence defending 500 points. Dinara Safina, currently ranked third in the world, is defending only 4 points this year, as last year she lost in the first round. And finally, world No.4 Elena Dementieva is defending 280 points, having lost in the fourth round last year.

The winner of the 2009 Australian Open will receive 2000 points. The top four ranking positions are very close and here are some ranking projections:

  • If Jelena Jankovic wins, she will remain No.1 regardless.
  • If Dinara Safina wins, she will become No.1, regardless.
  • If Serena Williams wins, she will become No.1 IF… she does not play Jankovic in the finals.
  • If Elena Dementieva wins, she will become No.1 IF … she does not play Jankovic in the finals.

Moreover, with Jankovic winning her first round match at the Australian Open, Safina would need to reach AT LEAST the semifinals, while Serena Williams and Dementieva would need to reach the finals in order to have a chance to become the No.1 in the world. (photos: Ralf Reinecke)

Emotional Jelena Dokic beats Anna Chakvetadze in Australian Open second round

Jelena DokicIt was the hottest match on day 3 of the Australian Open and the outcome was even hotter. Home favorite Jelena Dokic, who "went through hell and back" while absent from the tennis world, erased 17th seed Anna Chakvetadze from center court 6-4 6-7 (4) 6-3 and made way into the third round of the Australian Open.

Dokic fought hard, despite having a right foot injury, and claimed the momentous victory over the world No.18 Chakvetadze on her third match point.

The last time Dokic played on Rod Laver Arena was eight years ago. Estranged from her father Damir, in Dokic’s player’s box sat only boyfriend Tim Bikic and her new coach Borna Bikic. After the emotional win, Dokic bowed to the crowd and to her boyfriend.

The Serbian-born Australian, who was once the fourth ranked player in the world, will play 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki in the third round.

Women's Tennis Blog has been following Dokic's comeback closely, so browse through our Jelena Dokic category to read how she has been reviving her tennis career.

Some other notable day 3 results we haven’t already mentioned:

Top seed Jelena Jankovic battled past Kirsten Flipkens 6-4 7-5, seventh seed Vera Zvonareva demolished Edina Gallovits 6-0 6-0, while seed No.19 Daniela Hantuchova beat Mathilde Johansson in three sets.

Chakvetadze was the only seed that lost on the third day, so No.9 seed Agnieszka Radwanska remained the highest fallen seed at the Australian Open so far. (via The Sydney Morning Herald, photo: Getty Images)

Dinara Safina battles into round three of Australian Open

Dinara Safina at the 2009 Australian OpenDinara Safina came back from a set down to win her first meeting with fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova and advance to the third round of the Australian Open. Final score: 6-7(3) 6-3 6-0.

World No.49 Ekaterina Makarova had a 5-2 lead in the first set, but Safina managed to convert the result and come to a 6-5 lead. Still, the third seed eventually lost the set in a tiebreak. However, Safina won the second set, breaking Makarova two times, and then cruised through the decider by bageling her opponent.

Dinara Safina will face Estonia’s No.25 seed Kaia Kanepi in the third round. (photo: Getty Images)

Ana Ivanovic moves into third round of Australian Open

Ana Ivanovic at 2009 Australian OpenFifth seed Ana Ivanovic advanced to the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-2 victory over world No.169 Alberta Brianti of Italy.

Good news is that Ivanovic displayed much more solid play than in her first-round match against Julia Goerges.

Brianti, who by the way looks a lot like Justine Henin, was making her first appearance in the second round of a Grand Slam.

The third day of the Australian Open has just begun and two other seeds also advanced. No.10 seed Nadia Petrova defeated Sania Mirza 6-3 6-2, while seed No.25 Kaia Kanepi beat Patricia Mayr 6-3 6-1. (photo: Getty Images)

Serena Williams signs with Mission Skincare

Mission SkincareSerena WilliamsWorld No.2 Serena Williams has signed a deal that will make her an equity partner as well as an endorser of Mission Skincare, a company marketing skin care products to those who engage in some form of exercise.

The tennis star will be involved in product development. Products include lip balm, sunscreen and foot cream.

Because of the terms of her Nike deal, Serena will not be able to wear a Mission Skincare logo on the court. (source: All Things Serena Williams, photo of Serena by Ralf Reinecke)


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