Tennis stars hit for Haiti
Event on eve of Aussie Open raises $185,000
MELBOURNE, Australia – Roger Federer played the role of master of ceremonies. Andy Roddick doubled as a standup comic. Serena Williams was laughing all the way.
The fundraiser for earthquake victims Sunday – a brainchild of Federer and dubbed “Hit for Haiti” – came on the eve of the Australian Open and raised more than $185,000, an amount organizers expected would increase.
Federer, who has a record 15 Grand Slam titles, teamed with Williams, the reigning Australian Open champion, and Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur. Their opponents were 2009 winner Rafael Nadal, 2008 winner Novak Djokovic, Roddick and U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters.
The players wore microphones on the court, adding to the entertainment of a mixed-doubles match featuring player substitutions.
To the delight of the crowd, Roddick mocked Williams’ infamous meltdown at the U.S. Open, when a line judge called her for a foot fault during a crucial point in her semifinal loss to Clijsters.
“Did you really call a foot fault on me in a charity match?” Roddick reprimanded a line judge. “You realize Serena’s over there, right?”
The camera panned to Williams sitting on the sidelines shaking her head and laughing, as the packed 15,000-seat stadium roared in laughter. Williams has been touchy on that subject since her arrival in Australia last week – the profanity-laced, finger-pointing tirade cost her a record fine of $82,500.
In the end, Federer’s so-called Red Team beat the rival Blue Team 7-6 in their one-set match that lasted an hour and a half. The teams were named for the colors of Haiti’s flag.
Sharapova ousted
Maria Sharapova was upset by Maria Kirilenko 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4 in the first round of the Australian Open, the latest in a string of poor Grand Slam performances for the Russian superstar.
The 14th-seeded Sharapova was unable to defend her 2008 Australian Open championship while sidelined 10 months because of right shoulder surgery. She then failed to advance beyond the quarterfinals in the other three majors last year.
Second-seeded Dinara Safina also advanced, with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia.
On the men’s side, Andy Roddick beat Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.