Hingis, Federer with Thrilling Wins at Australian Open

Posted on January 23, 2006

Hingis Edges Stosur for QF Berth at Australian Open

Unseeded Martina Hingis continued her unprecedented roll Monday at the Australian Open against her hardest-charging opponent yet, downing Aussie serve-and-volleyer Sam Stosur 6-1, 7-6(8) to move into the quarterfinals.

"Making the last eight coming into this event, I would have never thought I got that far," Hingis said. "Now here I am. Really no one can take that away from me anymore. Just really happy right now. I started off very well, I knew that I had to be right there from the start -- we both probably were very nervous," Hingis said. "I knew I couldn't give her any momentum."

Stosur, who out-hit Hingis from the baseline in the power department but failed to match her consistency, led 5-2 in the tiebreak before succumbing.

Hingis will next meet No. 2 seed Kim Clijsters, who propelled herself to a pain-killer-fueled win over No. 15 seed Francesca Schiavone 7-6(5), 6-4.

"I always have really good matches against her," Clijsters said of Schiavone. "I always look forward to playing against her because you always have -- she's not a girl who's going to hit you off the court. She's not a girl who hits as hard as, let's say, Lindsay Davenport. But she is a girl that moves incredibly well, can come up with really good shots and never gives up. That's fun to play against someone like that. You can really go for your shots. You always have to expect every ball back again. It's fun to play these kind of matches."

Clijsters said she played without pain during the match, but not necessarily because her hip and back injuries are behind her.

"My injury's not gone," Clijster said. "The pain is gone because of the tablets I'm taking. That's a way for me to block it out, yes. So that's a good sign that I can be out there and play without feeling the pain."

Two other Top 10 seeds cruised into the quarterfinals Monday when No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo crushed No. 16 Nicole Vaidisova 6-1, 6-0, and No. 7 Patty Schnyder rolled over No. 12-seeded Russian Anastasia Myskina 6-2, 6-1.

"I know if I mix it up, like either her forehand and backhand can break down a little bit," Schnyder said of Myskina. "That's what happened. So, yeah, I just felt comfortable like going to her backhand because it favors my forehand cross-court, which is my best shot. So, yeah. But I could always have changed it. I mean, I feel pretty good from the back."

Mauresmo was helped by Vaidisova committing 34 unforced errors to the Frenchwoman's two.

"Obviously, just putting the ball in and taking the opportunities when I would have them was probably going to be the key," Mauresmo said. "I didn't think, though, that it was going to be this kind of score or this kind of a match. Yeah, I mean, she made way too many errors...She's tall and she's already very powerful for 16. Maybe sometimes not so coordinated, but this is probably going to come."

Scheduled for Tuesday in quarterfinal action in Melbourne are (4) Sharapova vs. (6) Petrova in an all-Russian, and (1) Davenport vs. (8) Henin-Hardenne.

Federer Edges Haas in 5 Sets at Australian Open

World No. 1 Roger Federer weathered two sets of flat play and some inspired tennis from former No. 2-ranked German Tommy Haas Monday at the Australian Open, quelling a two-set comeback and advancing into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 win.

"This for me was a good match to win in five," Federer said. "I like to be pushed like this. I'm happy I had a tough one now and I'm still in the tournament."

After Haas' two-set comeback the fifth set was marked by a controversial call that sent Haas into a downward spiral.

"Everything turned around. I was playing fantastic in the first two sets then he played fantastically in the next two," Federer said. "I was really just trying to break his momentum. I knew that all I needed was a break because I was serving pretty well."

No. 5 seed Nikolay Davydenko earned the comeback effort of the day Monday in Melbourne, scrapping back from two sets down against exhausted No. 12 seed Dominik Hrbaty to post a 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory.

"I think nobody believe I can win match today because I was already in third set, was like losing my serve 4-3, he's serving," Davydenko said. "I try like play the same, you know, try to fight. This game I win like 4-all and then try come back, was 5-4. But it was difficult also in the third set. Finish the set because he running good, I try to running also good, and we play a long rally. Was important make no mistake. He make like many mistake in the third set. This is for me good."

Up two sets to love, Hrbaty felt the effects of playing three consecutive five-set matches in his first three rounds.

"I don't feel like I made the mistakes to lose the match. I think he played well to beat me," Hrbaty said. "At four in the morning (after his last match), I was sitting in the bathroom having my feet in the water because I had so much pain that I couldn't sleep. I had a really bad blister on my feet. Then all day I was basically taking care of my feet and went for a swimming pool, had a massage, was worrying if I will be even able to run on the court. In the end, I was really happy the way I played. I mean, I had the pain, but I overcame it and I tried to fight to win the match."

Federer against Davydenko could be a fitness test to see who can recover from their previous five-set match.

Surprise No. 21 seed Nicolas Kiefer stuck to an aggressive game plan in dictating play against Juan Ignacio Chela, defeating the Argentine who had previously ousted Lleyton Hewitt by a 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3 scoreline.

"It was great that I played aggressive the whole time," Kiefer said. "I didn't care if I made mistakes or not. I mean, I had to play aggressive against this guy. That's what I did. Of course, I had a lot of mistakes, but that's the way how it goes. If you don't make it, you can't win."

Kiefer had 33 errors to Chela's 22, but the tale of the tape was the German's 41 winners to the Argentine's 24.

No. 25 seed Sebastien Grosjean also advanced in an all-French meeting, defeating Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.

Scheduled for Tuesday in Melbourne are (4) Nalbandian vs. Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro, and (7) Ljubicic vs. Marcos "Bombs Over" Baghdatis.

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