Safin Pulls from Aussie Open, Serena Weighs In

Unseeded winners were Belgian Christophe Rochus (d. Acasuso), American journeyman Paul Goldstein (d. Volandri who retired with illness), qualifiers Jan Hernych (d. Pavel) and Ivo Minar (d. Moodie who retired with a shoulder injury) of the Czech Republic, and Dutch qualifier Raemon Sluiter (d. Bracciali).

Wednesday's schedule in Auckland is (Q) "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter vs. (2) Ferrer, Murray vs. (5) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, Christophe "The Roach" Rochus vs. Massu, (1) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. (Q) Minar, in doubles the Roach Brothers vs. Kerr/Parrott, (7) Nieminen vs. Goldstein, (6) Olivier "The Other Roach" Rochus vs. (Q) Hernych, A.Martin vs. Wawrinka, and Mayer vs. Vik.

Gasquet Leads Seeded Exodus Tuesday at ATP Sydney

Three seeds were ousted Tuesday in windy Sydney where Russians Igor Andreev (d. (4) Gasquet) and Dmitry Tursunov (d. (6) Robredo) held hot hands, joined by Thai Paradorn Srichaphan (d. (7) Stepanek) who has rebounded quickly from a leg injury.

No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko was the lone seeded winner on the day, taking out Czech riser Tomas Berdych in straight sets.

Former No. 1 Carlos Moya saved a match point against Sebastien Grosjean, defeating the Frenchman in a third-set tiebreak, joined by fellow unseeded winners Florent Serra (d. Santoro in three) in an all-French match-up, Italian qualifier Andreas Seppi (d. (SE) Vliegen in three), Aussie (WC) Peter Luczak (d. Malisse in two tiebreaks), and Argentine lucky loser Juan Monaco (d. Verdasco).

"We always have really close matches against each other, often with one of us having match points and losing and vice versa," said Moya of Grosjean. "I felt really tired in the middle of the second set, especially with the heat, and then I don't know what happened. I started to feel a lot better and playing better too."

In doubles the top-seeded Bryan brothers saved two match points in defeating Aussies (WC) Guccione/Healey 12-10 in the third, with Fyrstenberg/Matkowski ousting No. 2 seeds Knowles/Nestor 13-11 in the third, also saving two match points.

Scheduled for Wednesday are (8) Blake vs. Moya, (1) Hewitt vs. Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan vs. (Q) "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, Andreev vs. (WC) Luczak, Calleri vs. (2) Davydenko, (Q) Seppi vs. (WC) Chris "Penthouse" Guccione, (Q) Clement vs. (LL) Monaco, and Serra vs. Tursunov.

Teenager Ivanovic Shocks Mauresmo at WTA Sydney

Serb teen Ana Ivanovic took a step toward reclaiming a Top 20 ranking going into the Australian Open on Tuesday at the WTA stop in Sydney, shocking No. 2 seed Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 7-5 in her opening-round match.

"I beat her before (French Open), and that helped me out today as well," said Ivanovic, who finished 2005 at No. 16 on the WTA Rankings. "It was a really hot day and it was hard out there. I was really pleased I took the opportunities in the second set and managed to finish in two."

Mauresmo will now enter the Australian Open with an 0-1 record on the year.

"I probably would have needed at least one more match before playing her," Mauresmo said. "That made a big difference today."

Also melting down in the Sydney heat Tuesday was No. 3 seed Patty Schnyder, losing in three sets to Daniela Hantuchova.

Seeded winners on the day were (1) Kim Clijsters (d. (Q) N.Li), (4) Nadia Petrova (d. Russian countrywoman Kirilenko), (5) Justine Henin-Hardenne (d. (Q) Dushevina), (6) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. Russian countrywoman Safina who retired with a foot blister), (7) Francesca Schiavone (d. (Q) Z.Yan), and (8) Nicole Vaidisova (d. (Q) Fedak), all in straight sets.

"I was struggling with the heat in the first set," said Clijsters who came to Sydney from an exhibition in Hong Kong. "My skin was burning even though I put lots of sunscreen on."

Scheduled for Wednesday are (6) Kuznetsova vs. Ivanovic, (5) Henin-Hardenne vs. (4) Petrova, (1) Clijsters vs. (7) Schiavone, and Hantuchova vs. (8) Vaidisova.

Kostanic Beats 7 Seed, Rain at WTA Hobart

Croat Jelena Kostanic orchestrated the lone upset Tuesday at the WTA stop in Hobart, advancing into the quarterfinals with a three-set win over No. 7 seed Nuria Llagostera Vives.

"It was a really tough match," Kostanic said. "She's a really tough player, so there's not one thing you can do against her."

Seeds safely into the quarter were (5) Iveta Benesova (d. Washington in three) and (8) Jill Craybas (d. Bremond in three).

Other un-seeds into the quarters were Italian Mara Santangelo (d. (Q) Kremer), American Laura Granville (d. American countrywoman Jackson), and Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek (d. Foretz in three).

Rain kept (WC) Casey Dellacqua vs. Alona Bondarenko from taking the court, and stopped (4) Amy Frazier vs. Kristina Brandi with the seeded American leading 7-6(3), 4-1.

On tap for Wednesday are Craybas vs. Santangelo, Dellacqua vs. A.Bondarenko, then Dellacqua or A.Bondarenko vs. Krajicek, Frazier vs. Brandi (to finish), Benesova vs. Brandi or Frazier, and Granville vs. Kostanic.

Top-Seeded Medina Wins Again at WTA Canberra

Top-seeded Spaniard Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues continued to uphold her seeding Tuesday at the WTA stop in Canberra, rolling over Belarus qualifier Tatiana Poutchek 6-0, 6-1.

Other seeded winners on the day were (4) Shahar Peer (d. Daniilidou) and (6) Catalina Castano (d. Garbin), while Japan's Aiko Nakamura ousted (5) Roberta Vinci (bagel in the second), and Hungarian Melinda "The Fifth Element" Czink outlasted (9) Virginie Razzano from a set down.

Other unseeded players into the quarterfinals were Korean Yoon Jeong Cho (d. (Q) Laine) and German Julia Schruff (d. (LL) Meusburger 6-1 in the third).

Scheduled for Wednesday are Medina Garrigues vs. Bychkova, Peer vs. Nakamura, Castano vs. Schruff, and Cho vs. Czink.

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