Record-setting Federer back on track

Venus left out due to injury, Sharapova and Wozniacki progress.

MELBOURNE: Defending champion Roger Federer got back on track with a record 57th win at the Australian Open as Justine Henin crashed and Venus Williams was forced out with a painful muscle injury. Men’s third-seed Novak Djokovic, women’s number one Caroline Wozniacki and Russian Maria Sharapova also reached the last-16 as temperatures soared at Melbourne Park.

Federer worked out the frustrations of his five-set rollercoaster against Gilles Simon by handing out a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 beating to the Belgian Xavier Malisse, whom he has known since his junior days. In the process he broke Stefan Edberg’s record for the most Australian Open victories in the Open Era and took an important step towards a fifth title – and the chance to deny Rafael Nadal a sweep of the Grand Slam crowns.

“It’s very nice to take the record but Edberg still stays my idol,” said Federer.

Djokovic’s quest to break Nadal and Federer’s Grand Slam stranglehold received a helping hand when fellow Serb Viktor Troicki retired hurt after going a set down. Meanwhile, Andy Roddick came from behind to see off Dutchman Robin Haase 2-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-2.

Injured Venus

Williams departed in dramatic circumstances as she screamed in pain and limped to her chair after just one game of her third-round clash with Germany’s Andrea Petkovic, and retired shortly afterwards. The seven-time Grand Slam champion, 30, had needed treatment for a strained psoas muscle, which runs from the abdomen to the groin, during her previous match with Sandra Zahlavova.

Williams, playing her first tournament since the US Open after struggling with injury, had never retired in 250 previous Grand Slam matches. It is the first time in the Open era that no American has reached a Grand Slam last-16.

Henin was floored by Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, who held her nerve in a gripping tiebreak to win 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) while Wozniacki took revenge on Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, whose shock victory at the Sydney International raised new questions about the Dane’s credibility as world number one. Sharapova fought back from a set down before subduing Germany’s Julia Goerges 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Indo-Pak Express rolls on

Pakistan tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Rohan Bopanna progressed to the doubles’ third round after defeating the French pair of Jeremy Chardy and Arnaud Clement. The Indo-Pak Express will now face eighth-seeds Michael Llodra from France and Nenad Zimonijic of Serbia.

Earlier, they breezed past the unseeded Brazilian pair of Franco Ferreiro and Andre Sa 6-3, 6-0 to win the match in just 49 minutes. The pair are seeded 10th in the tournament.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2011.