Australian Open – Jan 2010
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MELBOURNE, Australia — Justine Henin wasn’t away from so long that she had never heard of 20-year-old Alisa Kleybanova, the power-hitting Russian who already has some pretty big notches on her tennis belt.
The two played on a fast indoor carpet in Henin’s home country of Belgium nearly two years ago, in one of the last tournaments Henin played before she retired – the last tournament she won. So the power coming from the other side of the court in their third-round match at the Australian Open Friday was no surprise.
But as she did with the more accomplished Elena Dementieva in the previous round, Henin was somehow able to manage her nerves, and her opponent, in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win during which she was down a set, 1-3, and very nearly a second break of serve that likely would have meant her demise.
“I’m happy I’m in the fourth round. I survived a little bit today. It’s always good to be in this kind of match, because I came back from nowhere,” Henin said. “Physically, I suffered a little bit in the last two days.”
It’s hard to execute a variety of shots when the ball is coming at you as if shot out of a cannon. And Henin found herself getting blown off the court, without the energy to counter. Slowly but surely, though, Kleybanova’s level dropped. And Henin, as champions do, cleaned it up significantly on her side of the net. “She was doing a very good job at that time. I just decided to wait for the opportunities. She started to serve not as well at the end of the second set, and in the third it was much better,” she said.
Henin has survived two serious tests so far. She’s in the final 16 to face another Belgian in Yanina Wickmayer.
Currently ranked No. 16 but forced to go through qualifying because she was under suspension for failing to follow her federation’s drug-testing protocols when the entries closed, Wickmayer posted a 6-1, 6-7 (4) 6-3 against Sara Errani Friday to set up Henin’s second match against a countrywoman.
If Henin gets past Wickmayer, and Kim Clijsters keeps winning, there will be an all-Belgian quarter-final.
There was one early shocker Friday, when No. 8 women’s seed Jelena Jankovic went down to No. 31 seed Alona Bondarenko. Jankovic, who hasn’t been talked about much here, made 38 unforced errors in the 6-2, 6-3, third-round loss.
Meanwhile, the top men continue on, although No. 7 seed Andy Roddick got a bit of a scare Friday against mercurial Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez. The American needed more than 3 1/2 hours to beat Lopez 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
On Thursday night, the only awkward moments during Roger Federer’s otherwise routine 6-2, 6-3. 6-2 second-round win over Victor Hanescu of Romania came early when Britain’s Prince William arrived amid applause, the popping of flash bulbs and the sighs of young female fans.
“Got off to a good start and kind of never looked back,” Federer said. “Very happy with the way I played. Moved well and played some amazing shots. It was great.”
None of the men’s seeds had much trouble advancing Thursday, although a rise in temperature coincided with some grumpy behaviour from 2008 champion Novak Djokovic.
The Serb dropped the first set to Marco Chiudinelli, before prevailing 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
The only upset came when No. 17 seed David Ferrer went down to 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, a Cypriot with a huge following and some nine uncles and 20 cousins in Australia.
No. 9 seed Fernando Verdasco, a semifinalist last year, No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 22 Lleyton Hewitt went through without dropping a set. Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko continued to breeze through his matches incognito, posting a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 win over Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko.
Venus and Serena Williams played back to back Thursday afternoon, both against left-handers. Serena, despite a heavily-wrapped right thigh and a thick bandage below her left knee, looked focused in a 6-1, 6-2 win over Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Sister Venus had a few more issues against Austrian veteran Sybille Bammer, a player she had practised against the weekend before the tournament started. But she still prevailed 6-2, 7-5
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