Australian Open Day 4 Notes: 4 Serbs in 3rd Rd, Title Eludes Russian Women

Roger Federer has lost just six games in two matches at the Australian Open. That’s the fewest the Swiss has ever lost through the second round at a Slam, and the fewest anyone’s ever lost en route to the third round at the Australian Open…
ADHEREL
Roger Federer has won 16 straight matches at the Australian Open…

There are no former champions in the women’s bottom half draw…

Is this the French Open? Five of the 16 players in the bottom half of the men’s draw are from France. Sebastien Grosjean is also alive in the top half…

Nikolay Davydenko plays his third straight Frenchman on Friday…

Sam Querrey told Patrick McEnroe that he declined an invite to attend the Davis Cup final so he could continue training. Looks like it’s paying off…

The Top 8 seeds are alive in both the men’s and women’s…

Phillip Kohlschreiber has won his last seven matches…

Rafael Nadal is spending his 130th consecutive week at No. 2…

Andy Roddick is one of six former junior Australian Open champions to start the draw. Stefan Edberg is the only player to with the juniors and the main event…

Justine Henin is on a 30-match win streak…

Serena Williams has won 25 of her last 26 in Melbourne…

Jarkko Nieminen is married to Finland’s No. 1 badminton player, Anu Weckstrom. Both were members of Finland’s 2004 Olympic team…

33-year-old Vince Spadea is the oldest player left in the men’s draw…

All qualifiers have been eliminated from the men’s draw, but three still remain on the women’s: Hsieh, Domachowska and Lisicki…

Four Serbs have reached the third round: Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic. Only two Australians remain: Llyeton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua…

The Australian Open is the only Slam not won by a Russian woman…

Higher temperatures and rain are expected this weekend in Melbourne. If it does rain the tournament does have two covered show courts to keep play going. The US Open has zero…

From AFP on the Aussie Open holding on to its Slam credentials: “Authorities announced plans Thursday to ensure the Australian Open remains in Melbourne after its contract runs out in 2016, with competition high to host Grand Slam events. The Victorian government and tennis officials said they would will begin working on a two million dollar business plan to determine how to redevelop the Open venue at Melbourne Park. “Crowds at the Australian Open grew from under 300,000 in the late 1980s to over 550,000 last year and the proportion of overseas spectators has almost doubled since 1999,” said state Premier John Brumby. “With Tennis Australia predicting public demand will continue to increase and is likely to reach 650,000 patrons within the next 10 years we need to ensure that we can cater for that demand into the future.”…

Formerly unsponsored 22-year-old Aussie Casey Dellacqua has been picked up by Nike after reaching the third round of the Australian Open…

Vince Spadea, speaking to reporter Matt Cronin after beating Denis Gremelmayr in five sets at the Australian Open: “I’m still striving to play better and to do things that are better for Vince Spadea. At the end of the day it may be a poor man’s dream but it’s something that I have to focus on. Andre Agassi won this tournament at 33, which doesn’t mean I can win this tournament, but I can achieve better things than I ever have…I was thinking about that and saying, I’m due. It’s like in roulette, its been black 40 times in a row its going to be red. I’m a warrior and a guy who likes to battle. I enjoy even a badly played point as long as it ends in some time of drama. In the fifth set it’s all about playing from your soul, not just your stokes. It’s a physical battle, but that comes from your mental fight. Today I felt that crowd running through my veins. There’s a lot of suffering that goes on out there, but I was having a good time.”…

Marcos Baghdatis blogging on his eating habits: “I love eating! I have a problem with that! I have a dream to eat as much as possible and not get fat, but I think it will never come true!! We don’t really have the freedom to eat what we want, as players we have to be careful about what we eat and not to gain weight, especially during tournaments. I know myself a bit better now so I can handle it and find a way to enjoy eating by staying at a good weight. I don’t have a weakness for chocolate or sweet things; I’m more of a salty guy. I don’t really like sweet things, I like it but not too much, so when I see people eating desserts I don’t mind, I can resist. I really like French fries but when I am at a tournament I don’t really eat them, I guess I have a lot of willpower!!!”