Blake defeats old hitting partner
MELBOURNE, Australia – James Blake overcame a shaky start to give sometime hitting partner Alex Kuznetsov a lesson in how to play at the majors with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 drubbing in the second round of the Australian Open.
Blake and Kuznetsov have practiced together before, but never officially played.
Kuznetsov, who moved from Ukraine to the United States when he was 3, shocked Blake with his power when they first hit together four years ago.
“James just turned it up a notch – he’s playing awesome,” Kuznetsov said. “He was just playing too good.”
At one point Blake showed his athleticism by tracking down a backhand in the corner, turning around completely, then rushing to the net on the far side to get to a drop volley that took him out of court. He flicked a forehand that ticked the net and hopped over Kuznetsov’s racket for a winner.
Blake, who won five titles last year and finished 2006 with a run to the Masters Cup final, had only 13 unforced errors to go with 26 winners.
Kuznetsov, in his second Grand Slam tournament and getting his career back on track after breaking his leg when he crashed a car into a tree in May 2005, matched Blake’s winners but had 36 unforced errors.
Tomas Berdych, seeded 13th, beat Australian Robert Smeets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela ousted No. 17 Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
In the women’s draw, Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis raced each other into the third round, coming at it from different sides of retirement.
Clijsters extended the winning start to her farewell tour, beating Akiko Morigami 6-3, 6-0.
The 23-year-old Clijsters, who has announced she is retiring at the end of this season in the hope of starting a family, recovered from an inconsistent opening set to run through the second with ease.
Hingis continued building momentum in her comeback with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Russian Alla Kudryavtseva.
In other women’s matches, 12th-seeded Anna Chakvetadze beat Laura Granville 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. Also advancing were No. 15 Daniela Hantuchova, No. 19 Li Na, No. 22 Vera Zvonareva, No. 29 Alona Bondarenko, No. 30 Tathiana Garbin and Australia’s Alicia Molik.