Williams, Henin make 4th round
MELBOURNE, Australia – Defending champion Serena Williams and top-ranked Justine Henin pushed aside two more overmatched opponents in tennis’ Australian Open, advancing to the fourth round with straight-set victories today.
Williams, 26-1 with three titles at Melbourne Park since the start of 2003, beat No. 26 Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-4.
Henin, 15-1 in Melbourne since the start of the ‘04 tournament that she won, overcame serving troubles to hold off 25th-seeded Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-4.
Henin extended her winning streak to 31, dating to the Wimbledon semifinals. But the Belgian’s path to the title is tough, with both of last year’s finalists potentially in her path.
Williams, who was unseeded and ranked No. 1 when she beat then-top-seeded Maria Sharapova here last year to claim her eighth Grand Slam title, fired 15 aces and had a stretch of seven service games in which she yielded only six points.
Williams will face No. 12 Nicole Vaidisova, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-4. Williams had to save set points in a semifinal against Vaidisova here last year before winning in straight sets.
“Obviously, it doesn’t get much tougher than that,” Vaidisova said of the fourth-round match against Williams. “She’s a great champion, a great fighter.”
No. 5 Sharapova faced fellow Russian Elena Vesnina later today.
No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, who had to save match points in her first-round match, had a lapse in the second set and a code violation for coaching in the second game of the third set of a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win over No. 30 Virginie Razzano of France.
Men’s No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko has not dropped a set in three rounds, beating France’s Marc Gicquel 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Marcos Baghdatis downed 2005 champion Marat Safin 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2.